Sonic The Hedgehog: Battle for Mobius
by Roadbuster55
Summary: This story tells what happens right after the climax of season 2 of the 90's Sonic The Hedgehog cartoon, otherwise known as Sonic SatAM. This is just my interpretation of what I think should have happened had the series gone on further. Hope you enjoy!
1. The Aftermath of Doomsday

Author's Note: Hey everyone! I am a HUGE fan of Sonic the Hedgehog (SatAM) and I was disappointed when I found out the series had been cancelled following the season 2 finale. So, I thought, "Hey! Why not do a fanfic on that?". So here it is, my story on how the series should have gone on if they had a third season. Note: Look out for characters from other Sonic titles, cause they'll be in here!

* * *

><p>Blue streak, speeds by<p>

Sonic the Hedgehog

Too fast, for the naked eye

Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic, he can really move

Sonic, he's got an attitude

Sonic, he's the fastest thing alive

Don't doubt, what he can do, Sonic the Hedgehog

Look out, when he storms through, Sonic the Hedgehog

Sonic, he can really move

Sonic, he's got an attitude

Sonic, he's the fastest thing alive

He's the fastest thing alive

He's the fastest thing ALIVE!

* * *

><p>0300 hours, Present Day, Mobius, Remains of the Doomsday Project.<p>

Smoke drifted up from the charred ruins of what was once known as The Doomsday Project, a building so powerful and immense that it had briefly controlled all of Mobius.

Now, it appeared as if it had been completely obliterated. All was still and silent, except for the roboticized Mobians, or Robians, who had survived the explosion, wandering around aimlessly, searching for direction, a command, something they could follow.

Suddenly, a large cylindrical tube rose from the ruins, disturbing the debris and dust that had gathered over it. As the dust settled, the door slid upwards.

Inside was a short human, with a pointed nose, grey eyes, purple cape, and black gloves, and boots. He could be described as bald, if it weren't for a few strands of gray hair on his rounded head.

"YEEEESSSS!" he cackled maniacally in a shrill, scratchy voice. "The big, round guy finally let Sonic defeat him." He looked out among the ruins, "Well, don't celebrate too soon, HEDGEHOG!" He declared, "Now, it's my turn, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! AND I'M NOT ALOOOOOOONNE!" he cackled as he walked across the wasteland towards a towering city skyline in the distance.

Inside the chamber, two sharp, red eyes suddenly appeared in the darkness. A wheezy cackle of laughter suddenly emanated from the unseen figure.

* * *

><p>0310 hours, Same Location<p>

Amidst the ruins and detritus of Doomsday, a shadow dashed away from behind the rubble on all fours like prey in flight from a predator. It briefly ran through a small opening in the trees into the moonlight. From what could be seen, it was a Mobian, with flowing red spines, a majority of them flowing behind its face in the wind.

As the figure approached a cliff edge, it jumped and glided over the still forest. From there its full appearance could be seen. It was a red spiny echidna, wearing white gloves with spikes on the knuckles, and red, yellow, and green sneakers with spikes on the soles. On it's chest was a face-down crescent

_*Knuckles*_ A calm, somewhat gravelly voice suddenly broke the silence, _*What is your report?*_

Landing safely on the ground with a somersault, the echidna activated the transmitter strapped to his wrist.

"Knuckles here." his deep voice boomed, "You're not going to believe this, guys. The Doomsday Project was destroyed!"

_*That's impossible! Field reports concluded that it was nearly impenetrable!*_ Another voice, deeper than the first, objected.

"Well, it's been destroyed." Knuckles stated rather bluntly, "From what I was able to see, the project was destroyed by two fast moving objects equipped with some form of energy."

_*What kind of energy?*_

"I'll send you the reading." the echidna said as he typed in a random sequence of keys, "It's being transferred right now."

_*...Fascinating. The only artifacts that could contain that much power are the Drood Henge Stones, or...*_ The voice suddenly stopped.

"I know, the emeralds." He grunted, " Anyway, it appears that Ray's report was true. Robotnik did initiate his plans a week ahead of schedule."

_*Huh, the so-called 'Genius' certainly was impatient.*_ a third voice, with a notably higher pitch, remarked.

_*And do you know who this 'someone who destroyed Doomsday' is?*_ the first voice inquired.

"I think it was a group of Freedom Fighters."

_*Another group?*_

"Yeah, a group besides the group in Lower Mobius. I'll have to check with Griff to see if he knows them."

_*I thought that area was destroyed when Robotnik took over Mobotropolis.*_

"No, the area was saved due to the timely intervention of two Mobians. Anyway, what's more disturbing is this. Snively somehow survived the explosion, and he's in league with... him."

_*...Looks like we have another baddie to deal with.*_ The higher pitched voice noted.

"Yeah, I think it's best that we try to establish contact with the Freedom Fighters in Knothole, they may prove to be a powerful ally."

_*Agreed. Knuckles, head to Knothole and establish communication with the Freedom Fighters. The more Mobians who know about us, the better. Snively has plans, I'm sure of that. I fear that they may be most detrimental to our planet's survival.*_

"You got it. Knuckles out." Switching off the transmitter, he withdrew a pair of red-and-silver plated gloves with razor-sharp claws from his pack.

He dusted off a thin layer of gray dust that had formed on the gloves.

"Time to give the ol' shovel claws a try." A glimpse of moonlight showed a slight smile on the echidna's face, it had been a while since he had used his old 'Friends'.

He slid on both gloves, tightened their straps, and he dug the claws into the ground. In less than a minute, the echidna had disappeared and a hole about the size of a regular Mobian had been drilled into the ground.

* * *

><p>0700 Hours, Present Day, Mobius, The Great Forest, or Knothole<p>

Morning broke over the Great Forest, a grand wood that had stood for over a thousand years. As the sunlight settled in on the various nooks and crannies, it touched upon a hidden village of thatch-roof wooden huts and clear, sparkling waters. The village of Knothole was home to a large group of Mobians known as Freedom Fighters, Citizens who were dedicated to defeating Robotnik and returning freedom to the planet of Mobius.

In one of the huts a blue, anthropomorphic hedgehog lay sleeping in a bed fashioned out of wood and hay. There was a loud rapping sound on the door of the wooden hut. The blue hedgehog wearily opened his eyes.

"Man, what's with the racket?" he thought as he sat up, shook off the covers and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Sonic?" An old, weary voice spoke from behind the door, "Are you awake?"

Sonic yawned and stretched, "Come on in, Uncle Chuck."

The door opened with a wooden creak, and in it stood a hedgehog about Sonic's height. However, he wasn't your average, run-of-the-mill, flesh and blood hedgehog. Instead, where there had once been spines and flesh was now blue and gray metal plating, with sharp, curved metal protrusions connected to his cranium, and metal protrusions that were meant to be his eyebrows and mustache on his face. He had pitch-black eyes with sharp, red pupils in the center.

"Sonic, Sally's called a meeting."

"What do you think she called it for?" Sonic asked, scratching under his shoulder.

"Beats me." Chuck shrugged, "But she wants everyone in Knothole at the meeting hall, including you."

Sonic groaned, "If Sal has to wake me up in the middle of the night..."

"Actually, it's 7 A.M."

"Why so early?"

"She said that this is extremely important, Sonic. It has to do with Robotropolis."

"Okay, I'm up." Sonic climbed out of bed and rushed past his uncle to the conference hall in a blur of blue and red fur.

The elderly hedgehog shook his head. "Same as always." he thought with a wry smile as he walked down the sunlit dirt path. He wasn't surprised. Even when he was a young hedgehog, Sonic had always had an impulsive behavior streak. Chuck turned and walked in the direction Sonic ran off.

It had only been a day since Dr. Ivo Robotnik's defeat when Sonic and Sally had unleashed the positive energies of the Drood Henge Stones and destroyed The Doomsday Project, and yet it all felt like it had happened years ago. A grand celebration had been held, which was evident by the remains of firework ashes throughout the village.

Just like the other citizens of Knothole, Chuck was glad that Robotnik had been defeated, and following that he had become a citizen of the tiny village. But, even though he was Sonic's uncle, he couldn't help but feel as if he wouldn't ever be fully accepted in Knothole. His presence seemed to raise the other Mobians suspicions about him being a "spy". Whenever he tried to speak with another dweller in Knothole, all he got was a simple "Hi." before they walked away without a second thought.

To add to the stress of his situation, all the other inhabitants of Knothole were normal flesh-and-blood creatures. Chuck himself was different. He was completely roboticized, not a single shred of fur or flesh was visible. He was one of the first to be roboticized during Robotnik's takeover, in the very machine that he, Sir Charles Hedgehog, had created in order to increase the life of an average Mobian. The machine, however, destroyed the very will of the Mobians it transformed into robots.

It had been a terrible experience, his free-will was completely destroyed, and all he did was follow Robotnik's orders like the twisted machine he had become. But then Sonic returned, after all these years, and Chuck, after a brief battle with the roboticizer programming, was able to overcome the evil inside of him.

"Charles, great, you're here."

Chuck looked up. In front of him in the bright light of the morning was a large group of Mobians sitting on logs in front of the stage where they had previously celebrated the night before. The stage was part of the council building, one of the larger buildings in Knothole. It was always used for discussions on missions concerning Robotropolis.

On the stage stood Sally Acorn, Sonic's girlfriend, a brown-furred anthropomorphic teenage hybrid of a squirrel and a chipmunk, with red hair and blue eyes, wearing a blue vest and brown boots. Chuck realized that he had been so lost in thought that he had completely forgotten where he was walking.

"Well, now that I'm here, we might as well start the meeting, Sally." the elderly hedgehog said as he climbed onstage and sat down on a log next to Sonic. Next to Sonic sat Tails, a young fox with two tails, wearing gloves and running sneakers similar to Sonic's. Next to Tails sat Bunnie Rabbot, a brown, anthropomorphic rabbit who had the unfortunate condition of having her legs and right arm roboticized.

"Right." The 16 year old Mobian turned to the large crowd of spectators in the open, sunlit building, "Okay, everyone, I called this meeting because of unforeseen occurrences, and we still have unfinished business in Robotropolis.", Sally turned to the left, "Rotor, are you ready with the presentation?"

"Yeah, it's ready." A chubby blue, teenage anthropomorphic walrus wearing a yellow cap atop his head and a red utility belt strapped around his chest walked onto the center of the stage.

"All right everyone, listen up." Rotor said as he stood up and took center stage, "I've salvaged parts from my workshop, and..."

"And what, sugah?" Bunnie asked.

Rotor sighed, "I hate to say this, but after that Doomsday Pod wrecked my lab, the De-Roboticizer was completely destroyed, and I lost the files for the designs of the original Roboticizer. Without parts and the designs, I can't rebuild the machine, and without it, I can't cure Bunnie or Chuck."

Rotor paused to let the severity of his words sink in. Chuck was already aware of the bad news. For months the Freedom Fighters had been working on an invention to cure both him and Bunnie of their roboticized forms. Speaking of Bunnie, Chuck turned his attention towards the teenage rabbit to see her reaction to the news.

Her shimmering green eyes and slightly drooping ears revealed her reaction. Chuck saw a small tear trickle down her cheek and splash on her roboticized arm. He sympathized with her. Ever since her legs and right arm were roboticized by Robotnik, she had been working with the other Freedom Fighters to find a cure for her 'condition'. And now with this news, it seemed as if she would never be restored to her old self.

"However," Rotor continued, "With some help from Chuck, We have developed a plan to cure not only him and Bunnie, but also every roboticized citizen in Mobius!"

The crowd began to speak quietly amongst themselves. "That's impossible!" One said.

"How could we cure everyone who was roboticized? That could take years!" Another questioned.

Rotor motioned to Chuck, "Uh, Chuck, I could use a little help here."

Chuck stood up, "If you all could direct your attention to the center of the stage." he said as he spoke loudly above the clamor.

Rotor pressed a button on a remote he held in his hand. A hologram generator displayed the smoke-polluted city of Robotropolis, an always dark empire of twisted buildings, craggy structures, and piled-up, rejected machine parts and detritus. Dirty refineries constantly belched smoke into the atmosphere. The image then changed to show Robotnik's main headquarters.

"Rotor and I analyzed the photos Sally gave us of Robotnik's Roboticizer, and I theorized that if we can somehow re-program the machine and wire it to Robotnik's communication terminal, we can send de-roboticization waves across Mobius, via Robotnik's satellites, that will convert all the Robians back into what they were before they were roboticized."

"In words we can understand, Unc?" Sonic asked.

"In other words, every Robian will become regular flesh-and-blood creatures."

"Including me and you, Charles?" Bunnie questioned.

"Yes."

Bunnie stood up, "Well then, what the whoo-ha are we waiting around here for?"

A deep voice broke the silence, "I agree with Bunnie." an anthropomorphic ram wearing a red outfit and brown boots stood up, "If we act now, we may be able to save the Mobians before too late."

"All right, then it's official." Sally declared as she stood up, "We leave for Robotropolis this afternoon!"


	2. E-123

Author's Note: Okay, it's time for a little exposition and villains. Fans of Sonic Adventure 1 and Sonic Heroes are going to really enjoy this chapter. 'Nuff Said. Stan Lee reference FTW.

* * *

><p>E-1-2-3<p>

You didn't know, now I'm gonna show you.

The power that is me.

You try to take me down, stop the show.

Seems you've never tasted fear, or loss of control.

* * *

><p>0950 hours, Morning, Streets of Robotropolis<p>

Snively walked through the dark, dirty, garbage infested streets of Robotropolis, his long, pointed nose inhaling the noxious fumes that lingered in the air. The sky above was pitch-black, the result of ten years of pollution, smoke, and fumes pouring out from the smoke stacks of the city's factories. Piles of random machine parts and detritus littered the streets of the city.

"Ah, Lovely." He thought as he reached Robotnik's headquarters, a gargantuan, egg-shaped building. A hidden door slid open, allowing Snively access to its many twists and turns.

About five minutes later, Snively came to the door where his future as leader of Mobius would begin. Typing in a series of codes that only he knew, he entered the control room, chuckling to himself as he surveyed the contents of his uncle's headquarters. In the middle was his uncle's command chair, where he usually gave the orders to his troops. Opposite Robotnik's chair, there was a wide array of computer screens that displayed the view of almost every street, building, factory, and alleyway of Robotropolis.

This room had once been an area where Snively endured the most terrifying moments of his life, but now those times were over. Snively was now the master of the city, and very soon, he would be the master of all Mobius. All he had to do was take care of a pesky hedgehog and his friends.

He scrambled into his uncle's rather oversized command chair, and activated the computer, "Computer, initiate Operation: Overlord."

The dormant computer suddenly sprang to life.

*OVERRIDING ALL PROGRAMMING*

*INITIATING OPERATION: OVERLORD*

*ACTIVATING ALL SWAT-BOT AND ROBIAN BROADCAST FREQUENCIES*

Clearing his throat, Snively spoke through the microphone that had emerged from the control panel before him, "Fellow SWAT-bots and Robians, this is Snively, your new Master. Your old, unworthy master, Robotnik, has perished. I now initiate Operation: Overlord."

Operation Overlord was a program Snively had created during the early days of Robotnik's empire. It's function was to completely re-format the entire computer system, verifying to all the machines within the city that Snively was their master, and they were to serve him without question.

Terminating the link, Snively closed his eyes in remembrance. "Well, Julian.", he thought to himself, "You discredited your nephew, and you payed the price for it." He chuckled as he remembered the demise of Doomsday.

* * *

><p><em>1 Day ago, Moments before the Destruction of Doomsday.<em>

_Explosion after explosion rocked the entire premises of Doomsday, slowly corroding the walls around Snively and Robotnik._

_Robotnik hurried across the domed control room and pressed a button in the wall. A hidden door opened in response._

_"W-w-wait for me, sir!" Snively begged as he tried to follow Robotnik into the red and yellow escape vehicle that was concealed behind the wall._

_"There's only room for ONE, Snively." Robotnik snarled as he blocked access to his nephew from entering as the door closed._

_After Robotnik had driven the pod out of the building, Snively folded his arms and snarled, "You don't give me enough credit, Julian."_

_Even with the eminent explosion, Snively wasn't worried. He had prepared for such an occasion as this._

_He pressed a hidden button on the control panel, and a circular pod rose from the floor._

_"There's only room for one, Julian." He thought smugly as he entered the pod. The next instant, the door closed in front of him and tunneled underground, several miles below the destruction of Doomsday._

_As Snively waited out the explosion of Doomsday underground, he was almost sure that he heard his uncle screaming in a mixture of anger and defiance, "I HATE THAT HEDGEHOG! HATE HIM!"_

* * *

><p>Present Day, 1000 hours, Snively's HQ<p>

*SIR*

Snively opened his eyes. In front of him stood an average SWAT-bot, a tall, blue robot, with samurai armor, wrist-mounted blasters and a saucer head with a red visor.

"Yes?"

*WE HAVE FOUND THEM*

Snively smiled, "Excellent. Bring them in."

*AS YOU COMMAND SIR*

The door slid open as another SWAT-bot was followed by a large rectangular storage unit.

Standing up from his chair, Snively proceeded to survey the storage unit's cargo.

There were six robots inside. Five of the robots had the same body. They each had a curved, yellow helmet with a circular camera on the right side, green optics, round bodies, two three-jointed legs, a rounded storage unit on the left side of the chest, three pronged servos for a right hand, and a blaster in place of a left hand. Black stabilizers were linked onto the bottom of each leg hydraulics of each robot by a ball-and-socket joint. All five robots had numbers tattooed on the right side of their chests. One was colored black and white with blasters on each hand, the second was red and white, the third was blue and white, the fourth was orange and white, and the fifth was purple and white. All five robots had a hexagonal jet booster levitating behind them.

The sixth was far more advanced and presumably more deadly than the other five. It had large, clawed, 4-digit servos, large, curved red and black arms with a yellow cuff embroidered with sharp spikes on the wrist, two powerful jet boosters fused onto its back, two pitch-black two-pronged stabilizers were attached to two-jointed hydraulics that were attached to a red box-structure with a green box shape in the center that supported the large, circular red, black and white body above them. It had a similar yellow helmet as the others, except it was more pointed at the top. A black rectangular piece of metal was fused between its red optics, giving it the appearance of having a nose. Its black shoulder plates were tattooed with red omega symbols, with a red structure resembling an open rectangle fused onto the end of each plate.

Snively chuckled as he dusted off the fine layers of dust that had settled on the deactivated robots. He pressed a button on the side of the storage case and numeric keypads extended from the floor in front of each robot. He typed in the activation codes for the first five robots.

"Rise and Shine E-100 series!" Snively declared as the five droids began to vibrate as they came online, their optics each glowing a bright shade of green.

*SYSTEMS COMING ONLINE-E-101 Beta BEGINNING REACTIVATION PROTOCOL*

*SYSTEMS COMING ONLINE-E-102 Gamma BEGINNING REACTIVATION PROTOCOL*

*SYSTEMS COMING ONLINE-E-103 Delta BEGINNING REACTIVATION PROTOCOL*

*SYSTEMS COMING ONLINE-E-104 Epsilon BEGINNING REACTIVATION PROTOCOL*

*SYSTEMS COMING ONLINE-E-105 Zeta BEGINNING REACTIVATION PROTOCOL*

"E-100 Series!"

All five robots turned their curved heads in unison to face Snively.

Snively paced back and forth in front of the five droids, "I am Snively, your new master, you shall follow only my orders and WHAT THE?"

This exclamation was aimed at the sixth robot, who suddenly began shaking like the first five, only much more violently.

*SYSTEMS COMING ONLINE-E-123 Omega BEGINNING REACTIVATION PROTOCOL*

Suddenly, without warning, the droid faced Snively, stepped down from the case, shot it's large hand forward and grabbed him by the neck. Snively, shocked and confused, saw a fierce hatred was burning in its bright red optics.

It was strange, the other five were displaying no emotion, but Omega was apparently enraged about something.

*WHERE IS ROBOTNIK?* Omega suddenly bellowed in anger as it held the captive Snively in the air.

Snively was shocked and terrified, it was not in the nature of E-100 Robots to display emotions, not after they had been re-programmed.

"Ack! E-123 Omega! What is the meaning of this? Release me!" He squeaked.

*I WILL NOT RELEASE YOU UNTIL YOU TELL ME WHERE ROBOTNIK IS!* Omega yelled, tightening his grip around Snively's scrawny neck.

"H-He's g-gone! Destroyed! Dead!" Snively choked.

*GONE?* Omega loosened his grip, letting Snively slip from his iron grip and drop to the cold, hard floor, gasping for air.

"Yes," Snively heaved after catching his breath, "and now you are under my command."

Omega's optics burned with intense anger, *COLLABORATE WITH A LACKEY OF ROBOTNIK? NEVER!*

Omega's servos retracted their claws and reformatted themselves into five-barreled machine guns. He aimed both at Snively.

"E-100 Series! ATTACK!" Snively yelled as he dashed to his chair for cover.

All five robots charged at Omega. Omega, not in the least bit concerned, retracted his machine guns and replaced them with sharp, titanium claws.

Beta and Gamma circled Omega, waiting for him to make the first move. Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta attempted to take the robot powerhouse from both sides, but Omega retracted his hands into the large storage units on his arms, replaced them with flamethrowers and belched flames at his attackers, and Delta and Epsilon were forced to retreat. Zeta was engulfed in the flames and melted instantly.

Beta and Gamma attacked. They dashed in opposite directions as they dodged two missiles fired from Omega, and they both fired energy blasts from their hand-blasters. Omega was temporarily stunned from the attack, but he quickly recovered and fired clusters of missiles at Gamma and Beta. Beta, Gamma and Omega entered a two sided battle, which ended when Omega slashed Beta with his razor claws, blasted a hole in the roof, energized his rocket boosters, and flew into the skyline.

"GAMMA! DELTA! EPSILON!" Snively shrieked at the surviving robots from behind his chair, "Go after Omega! I don't care if you cause him any damage, just bring him back in one piece!"

*YES SIR* Gamma, Delta and Epsilon responded. They activated their jet boosters and flew through the opening in the roof.

Snively activated the communication grid and spoke into the microphone urgently, "Contacting all SWAT-bots and Robians, E-123 Omega is running rampant through our glorious empire of Robotropolis. If you spot it, subdue it immediately and bring it to headquarters. Snively out."

* * *

><p>5 minutes later, 1010 hours, Skyline of Robotropolis, Business sector.<p>

Omega rocketed through the skyline of Robotropolis, taking care to not catch the sight of any patrolling SWAT-bots and dodging any missiles targeted at him. As soon as Omega was far enough away from Snively's headquarters, he landed on the ground, miscellaneous machine parts and detritus creaked and bent under his weight.

Bright lights suddenly flashed on Omega from all directions.

*HALT YOU ARE UNDER ARREST* Red and white patrol-bots droned simultaneously, training their vehicle mounted laser guns on him.

Without so much as flinching, Omega fired missiles at the red and white Patrol-bots, and in the next instant, there was a large ring of flaming machine parts all around him. He sprayed a foam-like substance from his wrist, vanquishing the blazing inferno around him.

Omega walked through the dark alleyways of the city, his red optics scanning the surface of every building.

*ESTIMATE OF ARCHITECTURAL CHANGE TO AREA: UNKNOWN*

*ESTIMATE OF CORRUPTION TO SYSTEMS OF E-101 BETA TO E-105 ZETA: UNKNOWN*

*TIME SINCE BETRAYAL BY ROBOTNIK: UNKNOWN*

As Omega walked through the trash-infested streets, he thought, if robots can think, back to the time when he had been betrayed by the person he considered a father.

* * *

><p><em>10 years ago, 1430 hours, Robotnik's Headquarters<em>

_Omega walked through the brightly lit corridors of Robotnik's headquarters. Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta followed behind him._

_*WELL BOYS. I WONDER WHAT THE BOSS WANTS.* Omega pondered as he walked down the hallway._

_*HE PROBABLY WANTS US FOR ANOTHER ASSIGNMENT* Gamma responded._

_*ANOTHER MISSION?* Zeta groaned in frustration._

_*WHAT'S THE MATTER ZETA? TIRED OF THESE 'DIFFICULT' MISSIONS?* Epsilon asked as he shoved Zeta playfully._

_*NO. I'M JUST NOT AS WELL PUT TOGETHER AS YOU GUYS ARE.* Zeta complained._

_Beta nudged Zeta's shoulder, *WHY COMPLAIN, ZETA? YOU'RE PART OF A GREAT PEACEKEEPER GROUP*_

_*YEAH, IF THERE WASN'T AN EVER PRESENT CHANCE OF ME BEING DESTROYED!*_

_Delta playfully hit Zeta on the shoulder, *DON'T WORRY, WE'LL ASK THE BIG GUY TO GIVE YOU AN UPGRADE*_

_Beta tapped Zeta on the shoulder, *MAYBE HE'LL GIVE YOU CANNONS FOR HANDS.*_

_*AND DON'T HIT ME WITH THOSE CANNONS!* Zeta snapped, *YOU MIGHT SHOOT ME!*_

_Omega and the others chuckled slightly as Zeta shook off Beta's playful gesture._

_They reached the door of Robotnik's HQ. The door slid open as a camera scanned each robot before allowing them entry._

_After Zeta entered, the door behind them closed._

_"Welcome, Team Omega." a deep, sinister voice spoke from the light-green cybernetic chair in the middle of the dimly lit room, "I have been waiting for you."_

_A shadow rose from the chair. As it entered the light, its true form was shown. A large, bald, rotund human, with menacing features, a robotic right arm, sporting black gloves, black boots, and a red, yellow, orange, and black suit._

_Omega and the others stood at a salute. *DOCTOR ROBOTNIK, SIR!* All six robots chanted in unison._

_"Was your mission successful?" Robotnik inquired._

_*AFFIRMATIVE, SIR* Omega responded, *ALL ROGUE MOBIANS CAUGHT AND SENT TO BE ROBOTICIZED.*_

_Robotnik smiled, "Well, Snively, it appears our own Team Omega has been successful once again."_

_"Indeed, Sir." Snively agreed mechanically as he worked at his usual position._

_"Omega, I would like to speak with you." Robotnik demanded._

_*YES SIR.* Omega replied. When Robotnik wanted to speak with you, you spoke with him, no questions or anything._

_Robotnik descended from his chair, Omega quickly following behind him._

_About a minute later, Omega found himself walking down a long corridor next to Robotnik._

_"Omega, you have served me well for the past year."_

_*IT WAS NOTHING DOCTOR* Omega responded, he took pride in his work, but not to the point where he boasted about it._

_"Indeed. I have decided that it is time to reward you for your efforts."_

_Omega stopped._

_Robotnik turned around, "What is it, Omega?"_

_*WELL, SIR. IT'S JUST... WHAT ABOUT MY SOLDIERS? WILL THEY BE REWARDED?*_

_"Rest assured, Omega, your team will be given what is coming to them." Robotnik said, "Follow me."_

_After many twists and turns, and trips down elevators, Omega and Robotnik eventually arrived at a brightly lit room Omega had never had access to. It was an area filled with complex machinery, far more advanced than any technology Omega had ever seen before._

_*WHAT IS THIS PLACE?* Omega asked, his scanners detecting surprisingly strong energy emissions from the machines._

_"A very special place." Robotnik said, speaking with a low venom in his voice, "Bring in the droids."_

_Omega was suddenly confused, what droids was he talking about?_

_Suddenly, the door to the room slid open, and to Omega's horror, his deactivated soldiers were rolled in in a rectangular storage unit._

_*GUYS!*_

_Omega ran over to his limp soldiers, punishing the floor with his heavy footfalls. He suddenly swelled with anger as he realized the meaning of what Robotnik had said earlier._

_"Rest Assured, Omega. Your team will be given what is coming to them."_

_Omega turned to his master in a rage, *WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO THEM!*_

_Robotnik smiled cruelly, his kindness disappeared, "They are in stasis. They were no longer of any use to me."_

_*NO LONGER OF ANY USE?*_

_"As are you, E-123 Omega. Don't worry, they haven't suffered any damage, except their memories are to be erased and they will soon be obsolete, as you are."_

_A mixture of anger and horror coursed through Omega's circuits, the likes of which he had never felt before. His hand retracted, and a cannon and aimed it at Robotnik, *I'LL SHOW YOU OBSOLETE!*_

_Omega felt a sharp sting in the back of his body. Turning his head, Omega saw Snively holding a blaster. Wisps of smoke curling off of the weapon suggested that it had just been used. Omega reached his hand behind his head and yanked out a dart of some form that had been lodged into his body._

_Snively blew the smoke off of the blaster, "The cyber-dart is successful, Sir. Omega shall soon be in stasis like the others."_

_Omega suddenly felt his systems shutting down, his servos felt weak and shaky. His lower servos gave way and he dropped to the floor on his knees, using his quickly weakening arms as support for his heavy body._

_*WHA... WHAT ARE YOU DOING?* Omega asked in a subdued rage._

_"Oh, how it pains me to do this, Omega." Robotnik smirked sarcastically as he walked over to the suffering robot, "But I believe that you might want to meet your replacement."_

_The door to the lab opened, and in it stood a robot that was almost as tall as Omega, with blue samurai armor, a saucer head, and a red visor._

_Omega pointed his trembling servo at the machine in anger, *YOU ARE REPLAciNG me WitH thaT inFeriOr MaCHinE?*_

_"Indeed I am. That is your reward." Robotnik grinned evilly, "And now, I bid you farewell, E-123 Omega."_

_Omega had already lost sight in his right optic, and he had lost mobility in his left arm, but before he went offline completely, he muttered his last words, *CurSE yOu, Ro... BoT... nik*_

_Omega's optics dimmed and his arms went limp as he went offline and crashed on the smooth surface of the lab floor._

* * *

><p>Late morning, 1145 hours, outskirts of Robotropolis.<p>

As he turned the corner, Omega clenched his fist in silent fury. Robotnik had lied to him and his teammates, and when he had deactivated them, that was when he had gone too far. His feelings of happiness and pride in his work were gone, all he felt now was hatred against his master, and a lust for revenge.

*CHANCE OF SUCCESS IN ACHIEVING REVENGE AGAINST ROBOTNIK: 99.98%*

Energy blasts startled Omega as Delta, Gamma, and Epsilon ambushed him from above. Omega fired up his rockets and blasted into the sky. Delta, Gamma, and Epsilon took off in pursuit of him. Omega turned his upper body around 180 degrees and fired a barrage of bullets at his pursuers. The bullets only dented their armor. Omega then fired a barrage of missiles, merely meant to distract his attackers. All three robots destroyed all the missiles as if they were mere flies. Omega unleashed a jet of flame from his flamethrowers, attempting to melt his pursuers as he had done to Zeta. All three droids dodged the fiery inferno as it barreled towards them.

Omega used his final attack, retracting his hands into his arms and replacing them with two pulse cannons. A pulsing orb of purple light materialized and began to grow inside as Omega locked the cannons on his pursuers. As soon as the orb was sufficient in size, Omega fired the beam. Crackling purple energy erupted from the cannons as the distance between it and it's targets decreased. All three robots were engulfed in the blast as the beam drained nearly all of their energy, forcing all three to retreat.

As Omega watched his former soldiers fly off into the distance, and he wasn't affected by their departure. He felt no sympathy for his soldiers now, they were just mindless machines, twisted into obeying every command their master gave them. The question was, where was their master? It couldn't be Snively. Omega had to admit, he had never really seen Snively as competent from the start, and he couldn't trust his claim for Robotnik's death. No, Robotnik still had to be out there, and if Omega was to exact his revenge, he had to search the areas Robotnik had been recently. Maybe there would be a clue to his location.

Omega activated his internal scanners.

*SCANNING FOR ROBOTNIK'S LAST LOCATION*

*AREA LOCATED.*

Omega powered up his jet boosters and rocketed into the dark, smog-polluted skyline of Robotropolis.

Same time, 1145 hours, Snively's HQ.

In the dim, sickening green light of the control room, Snively's round head was buried in his gloved hands. He was stressed enough as it already was. Here he was, thinking that he had everything planned out. And then, an old robot that he had helped to create had threatened to destroy him and then ran away like a coward. And then, that machine had escaped the city, damaging many SWAT 'bots on his escape and nearly putting Delta, Gamma, and Epsilon into stasis.

"Julian must have not shut down Omega's program completely." He thought, "That must be why Omega reactivated on it's own when the E-100's were reactivated."

Snively then thought back to that fateful day, all those years ago.

* * *

><p><em>10 Years Ago. 1440 Hours, Robotropolis Headquarters, Science Division.<em>

_"I still don't understand, sir. Why are we putting the E-100 series into storage?" Snively asked after Omega's body was loaded into the containment unit and sent away into storage._

_"They were taking too long in capturing Mobians to roboticize." Robotnik responded, "And you know very well that my needs necessitate more slaves in order to build up my empire."_

_"But sir, they were much more efficient than the SWAT-bots!" Snively protested._

_"Yes, and much slower." Robotnik countered._

_"B-b-but..."_

_"SILENCE!" Robotnik yelled._

_Snively gulped. His uncle had always been intimidating, but he always felt the sense that he was bordering on the edge of madness at times._

_"E-123 Omega must never be reactivated, Snively." Robotnik said._

_"Why is that, sir?"_

_"The computer's re-programming has erased a majority of Omega's original programming on his RAM, but it cannot erase his memory."_

_Snively was puzzled, "So? What does that mean?"_

_"You fool!" Robotnik suddenly yelled, almost screaming, "Omega still remembers everything that occurred today! If he is ever re-activated, he will stop at nothing to destroy me!"_

_Snively was surprised, and somewhat amused, for this was probably one of the few times in his life that he had ever seen a hint of fear in his uncle's eyes._

_"Snively, activate the command computer for the new robots" Robotnik said, changing the subject and re-plastering the same, emotionless expression he always wore back on his face,"The new SWAT-bots will provide the military force for my empire, unlike Team Omega. Those old robots will be better off in storage."_

_"That's because you want to rely on mere machines, you horse." Snively muttered under his breath as he typed in a sequence of commands into the computer that would serve as the communication hub for the SWAT-bots._

_"What was that, Snively?" his uncle asked with an icy stare._

_Snively gulped, rushing to think of an excuse, "Oh, I said that the new SWAT-bots will provide pure force!"_

_"Yes." Robotnik muttered, suspiciously eyeing his nephew, "Just remember this, Snively, never reactivate Omega. Understand?"_

_Snively, too wrapped up in his own thoughts, responded absent-mindedly,"Yes sir."_

* * *

><p>Same Time, Robotropolis, Robotnik's Snively's HQ.<p>

*SIR*

Snively returned to reality as he noticed a SWAT-bot standing in front of him.

"Yes?"

The SWAT-bot turned and pointed to the melted body of Zeta and the badly scratched shell of Beta, *WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DO WITH THESE MACHINES PARTS?*

Snively pondered, "Hm, Take them to the laboratory in the lower sector. Have the repair robots re-build their exo-skeletons and use the original designs for Omega. I will add some... adjustments of my own."

Without another word, the SWAT-bot departed from the room and returned a few minutes later with a floating stretcher and Gamma and Epsilon. Both E-100 units delicately scooped up the remains of the robots and set them both on the stretcher, which was promptly carted out of the room. Snively followed, and after many twists and turns both he and the SWAT bot entered an elevator that descended into the lower levels of his headquarters.

As beams of light repeatedly filtered through the slits in the elevator and slid down the wall, Snively thought to himself, "If Omega ever returns to this city, he'll have a little surprise waiting for him."

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Sorry for the long chapter, but I felt that it was needed in order to introduce the E-100's, as they are some of my favorite Sonic characters in the games. Also, the reason I changed Omega's motive for revenge here was simply because his motive for revenge in Sonic Heroes was... well, weak. I hope that people understand the reason I changed that, and I hope you await further chapters! BTW, No, you will not be seeing characters, well, MOST characters from Sonic X popping up in this fanfic, because the farther I stay away from making references to that show, the better. Trust me, it'll get even better from here.<p> 


	3. Preparation

Author's Note: Hey, everyone! I'm glad you're liking the story so far. This chapter is just exposition, but I feel it's necessary in order to get some points across. BTW, what I said about including characters from Sonic X, I'll only be including characters that I feel will have a big impact upon the story. Anyway, without further ado, onto the story.

* * *

><p>1005 Hours, Present Day, Mobius, Knothole<p>

About 3 hours after the meeting, Sonic found himself pacing back and forth on a fallen tree on the rim of the pond that created the Power Rings. The Power Rings were simply golden rings moulded from an unknown material that were created by an unknown power source. Sonic usually used these rings to produce bursts of super speed in tight situations, usually during missions in Robotropolis.

Normally, the generator below the pond's surface created a power ring every 12 hours. However, with some modifications that had been made to the machine, thanks to Uncle Chuck, the generator could now produce two identical power rings every 6 hours. Any excess rings that were created were collected and stored away by a patrol robot, ALSO created by Chuck.

"Man, what's taking this thing so long?" the blue hedgehog thought as he tapped his red and white sneaker on the splintered trunk impatiently.

Suddenly, the surface of the water near the log began to glow and bubble as if it were boiling, and two thin, golden rings rose from the pool, floating about a foot or two within arms reach of Sonic.

"Man, that's way past cool." the hedgehog thought as he grabbed both rings and inserted them into his backpack.

* * *

><p>Same Time, Location: Knothole Courthouse<p>

Inside one of the rooms of the council building, Rotor and Chuck examined the supplies that they had set out on the table for their mission to Robotropolis.

"Screwdriver?" The blue walrus asked.

"Check."

"Hammer?"

"Check."

"Blowtorch?"

"Check."

"Wrist Communicators?"

"Check." Chuck said as he tightened the strap of a device around his wrist.

"Blasters?"

"Check." Chuck confirmed as he loaded ammo into a blue handheld blaster.

"Power rings?"

"Check, Rote!" Sonic said as he zoomed up in a streak of blue light and dropped his backpack on the table.

Rotor checked over the list and supplies again, "I guess that's everything." he said as he set the list down on the table. "The only thing we need is an eye-in-the-sky."

"Sal and Bunnie are working on that job." Sonic said, "They'll have someone picked before you know it."

* * *

><p>1010 hours, Knothole landing strip<p>

"Uh, Sally?" Dulcy, a large green dragon, asked as Bunnie clipped a communications device on her ear, "What exactly is this for?"

Sally strained her neck as she looked up at the dragon, "Well, Dulcy, this earpiece is for keeping in contact with us when we're in Robotropolis while you're in the sky."

"And why am I in the sky?" Dulcy asked, scratching her forehead in bewilderment.

"Because, sugah." Bunnie said, her grey robotic legs retracted as she finished her work, "We need someone to keep an eye out for the others if we ever get separated."

Dulcy snapped her claws, "Oh, I get it!"

"Great!" Sally said as she gave a sigh of relief, "We'll get you when we're ready to leave."

Sally and Bunnie walked down the dirt path, smiling to themselves as they heard Dulcy snoring contentedly against the large oak.

"My princess." A brown anthropomorphic fox donning a blue and red palace uniform adorned with multiple medals spoke up from behind Sally.

Sighing, Sally turned around and asked, "What is it, Antoine?"

"Yes, well, I was just wondering," Antoine began in his usual french accent, his hands fidgeting, "if I could remain here. Because, going to Robotropolis, it is not so good for my health, yes? And if I stay here, I could, how you say, keep you updated, yes?"

"If that's want you want, Antoine." Sally said. Secretly, she was relieved, Antoine had almost always been a problem in their missions. He often put the mission's objective in jeopardy, always screamed when he was scared, and at other times he got himself into rather annoying predicaments.

Antoine shook his head up and down enthusiastically, "Oui, oui, thank you, my princess!"

Sally groaned, "Antoine, how many times do I have to tell you? It's Sally, not princess."

Antoine bowed and walked away down the dirt path, "Forgive me, my princess."

Sally sighed in frustration, it was useless. How could she ever try to get Antoine to stop calling her princess? It had been a habit of his ever since he had been a young Mobian fox.

And speaking of a young fox, "Aunt Sally!"

Sally and Bunnie turned around as they heard the footfalls of a young Mobian approaching in their direction. Up the path came a brown, anthropomorphic fox wearing white gloves and red and white running sneakers.

"What is it, Tails?" Sally asked as the young fox skidded to a stop.

Without taking a moment to regain his breath, Tails blurted out, "I wanna go with you guys to Robotropolis!"

Sally was taken aback by Tails' request, "Well, Tails, we're glad that you want to help, but..."

"But what?" Tails asked.

"Well, sugah." Bunnie said, kneeling down and placing her robotic left hand on Tails' shoulder, "We already got Dulcy to keep an eye out for us in the city."

"But I know how to sneak around without being spotted!" Tails protested, "Besides, what if Dulcy falls asleep during the mission?"

"Give us a second, Tails." Sally said.

She and Bunnie turned around and began talking in whispers.

"Sally darlin'," Bunnie said, "I don't see what the problem is with lettin' Tails join us on the mission."

"But Bunnie," Sally protested, "What if something happened to him in Robotropolis?"

"Hey, that's a question that Rosie had about all of us when we were younger, Sal. Even if we didn't always come back... normal." Bunnie regretfully looked at her arm, sighing as she did so.

"Besides," she continued, "Didn't he help you that one time when you found the Deep Power stone?"

Sally sighed, "Okay."

They turned back to Tails.

"You can come with us, Tails. Just as long as you stay out of trouble." Sally said.

"Yes! Thanks Aunt Sally!" The young fox shouted enthusiastically, "I'll go get my things!"

Tails then twirled his two tails, similar to that of spinning helicopter blades, hovered off of the ground and flew towards his hut.

* * *

><p>5 Minutes later, Tails' hut<p>

Tails burst through the door of his hut and began rummaging through his chest and closet. He dropped the following items on his bed: His backpack, a hand-held laser pointer, the high-tech binoculars Rotor had given to him for his birthday, his lucky hockey stick and puck (just in case), and the flashlight he used to use to check under his bed for monsters when he was younger.

As Tails was gathering his supplies, he heard a knock on his door.

"Hey, Tails!" Sonic's voice called out from behind the door, "Mind if I come in?"

"Sure!"

The wooden door swung inward as Sonic opened it and stepped in.

"Sally told me that you asked to come along with us to Robotropolis." He said.

"She sure did!" Tails said excitedly, nearly bursting with excitement.

"Well," Sonic said, holding out his hand, "Since you'll be working with Dulcy in patrolling the skies, Rotor decided to make this for you."

In the hedgehog's gloved hand was a wireless headset, specifically made for Tails' head proportions.

"Wow! Cool! Thanks Sonic!" The young fox said as he eagerly accepted the gift and tried it on.

"Well? What do you think?"

"It's perfect!" Tails said as he adjusted the headset, "So, how do I work this thing?".

"It's easy." Sonic responded, "Just press that button on the right side."

Tails did as Sonic advised, "Oh. I get it!"

"Sonic!" Sally's voice called from outside.

"Yeah, Sal?"

"It's almost time for us to go!"

"Great! I'll be right there!" Sonic turned back to Tails, "You ready, little bro?"

Tails flashed his thumb up as he finished packing his things and slung on his backpack, "You bet, big bro!"

"All right," Sonic and Tails walked out of the cabin and ran towards the Knothole Council Building, "Next stop: Robotropolis!"

* * *

><p>About 30 minutes later, Knothole Outpost.<p>

Outside of Knothole, amongst a cluster of trees, Sonic, Sally, Rotor, Bunnie, Tails, Chuck, and Dulcy stood before a large gaping crack in the ground. In the hole was a large, hollow, metal tube that appeared to serve as some form of travel for a rather large object.

"We're sure lucky that Doomsday Pod didn't clean up it's mess when it attacked." Sonic remarked, "Now we've got a straight route to Robotropolis!"

"Remember, Sonic." Chuck said, "This tunnel leads straight to the remains of the Doomsday Project. From there, it'll be a straight path to Robotropolis and freeing all of Mobius."

Sally walked to the tunnel entrance and turned around to face the others, "Okay, everyone, once we reach Robotropolis we'll make a straight path to Charles' headquarters. From there we'll contact the other Freedom Fighter Groups. From there we'll head straight for Robotnik's Headquarters."

"Well," Bunnie said, "Let's get this show on the road!"

Dulcy climbed down first, about as nimbly as any dragon can climb, and was followed by Tails who descended by using his two tails to descend into the tunnel, turning on his flashlight as he entered.

One by one, they each descended into the tunnel by a rope that had been tied around a nearby tree. However, little did they realize that their journey to Robotropolis would lead each of them through the most traumatizing moments they would ever experience in their entire lives.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Now I know not a lot happened in this chapter, it was mainly exposition. Just bear with me, it will pick up soon. Also, for those Antoine fans out there, don't count on seeing him much in this fanfic. And don't count on seeing a BunnieXAntoine pairing in this story.<p> 


	4. Arrival

Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, what with re-write's and all, but anyway, here's a new chapter, and it's time for a little more exposition.

BTW, for anyone who's confused about the colors of the E-100's, they are as follows:

-E-101 Beta- Black

-E-102 Gamma- Red

-E-103 Delta- Blue

-E-104- Epsilon- Orange

-E-105 Zeta- Purple

-E-123 Omega: Red, Black, Yellow, Green, Etc.

* * *

><p>1310 Hours, Conduit to ruins of Doomsday Machine<p>

A bright light shined down a long corridor as the Freedom Fighters marched through the tunnel that would lead them to the remains of the Doomsday Project.

Dulcy, wings spread wide, stayed at the back of the group, guarding against any potential threat that might attack them from the rear. Chuck, Rotor, Sally, Sonic and Bunnie walked between Dulcy and Tails, looking around cautiously and jumping at almost every sound caused by either dripping water or a rat scurrying across the floor.

Rotor held a scanner that he had built for the trip, checking the readings on the screen almost every minute. At the front of the group, Tails, his backpack on his back and communicator clipped on his ear, held his flashlight in front of him steadily as he carefully stepped over the blackened and charred metal that had fallen on the floor during Doomsday's destruction.

They had been walking for at least 45 minutes when they finally came upon the exit, a giant opening in the ground with sunlight shining down into the tunnel. Unfortunately, the tunnel sloped up at a sudden incline, making it impossible for them to escape.

"Well, how do you suppose we're gonna get out of here?" Rotor asked, straining his neck as he looked up.

"Climb on everyone!" Dulcy said, pointing to the harness on her back, "I'll climb us out!"

They all climbed onto the harness on the dragon's back, with the exception of Tails, who flew out of the tunnel using his twin tails.

"Everyone hold on tight! We're goin' up!" sharpening her talons, Dulcy dug her claws into the wall, and then her toenails, climbing higher and higher with each sweeping movement of her arms and legs. After about 5 or so minutes of scraping her claws against the wall, Dulcy scrambled over the side of the pipe and landed on the dirt. Sonic, Sally, Rotor, Bunnie and Chuck scrambled down off of her back onto the charred metal floor.

After their eyes had adjusted to the light after wandering in the tunnel for so long, they saw the aftermath of the combined power of the Deep Power stones. At night, the effect of the release of so much power could not be seen, but in broad daylight, they stood awestruck.

The entire field appeared as if it had been leveled by a giant bulldozer, leaving nye a stone unturned. What was once the Doomsday Machine was mostly scattered, burnt-out machine parts.

Sonic whistled, "Man, we sure did a number on this place."

"You're right about that." Rotor agreed, observing the radar on his scanner, "The radar doesn't show any signs of active machinery within a 2 mile radius."

Tails was searching through a pile of random machine parts, "Rats, nothing in here's salvageable." he muttered disappointedly as he tossed away a charred wire-frame.

"Come on, little bro!" Sonic called as the others began to walk in the direction of Robotropolis, "We still have a mission to accomplish!"

"Coming!" Tails responded as he flew quickly to catch up with his friends.

When he caught up with the others, they began their quest to the polluted city of Robotropolis.

* * *

><p>1410 Hours, Outskirts of Robotropolis<p>

About an hour later, they reached the outskirts of the city. Dulcy flew through the polluted sky above while Sonic, Sally, Rotor, Chuck and Bunnie ran through the dirty streets below.

"Tails, can you hear me?" Sally spoke into her wrist communicator.

*_Affirmative, Aunt Sally._* Tails' cheerful voice spoke up from the communicator.

"Do you remember your assignment?" The Squirrel-Chipmunk hybrid asked.

*_I sure do!_* the young fox responded, *_Keep an eye out for the other Freedom Fighters, any enemy SWAT-Bot's, and make sure Dulcy doesn't fall asleep while flying._*

"Just be careful out there, little bro." Sonic spoke into his own communicator.

*_You got it, big bro!_* Tails said, the communicator switching off.

"This'll be a walk in the park." Rotor said confidently as they began walking in the direction of Chuck's headquarters.

Bunnie's ear cocked up, "Wait..." She said, stopping and turning around, her green eyes narrowing, "I thought I heard somethin'."

The radar on Rotor's scanner began flashing, "Uh-Oh. Uh, Guys?", The others turned around, "We've got incoming SWAT-Bots."

"Where are they coming from?" Sally asked in concern, her question suddenly being answered as bright lights suddenly flashed down upon them from the sky, "Never mind."

"So much for a walk in the park." Bunnie remarked as swarms of SWAT-Bot's emerged from the alleyways.

The Freedom Fighters found themselves enclosed by a ring of SWAT-Bots, each training their weapons on them. From the sky, three completely different robots descended to the ground, each aiming their weapons at the group. Chuck's eyes widened, for he recognized the three new droids.

"I don't believe it." he said to himself, "I thought they were destroyed."

*FREEZE, MOBIANS* The E-100's droned.

Rotor turned his head up towards the skyline, "INCOMING!" he shouted as Dulcy streaked down from the sky.

"I'll show you freeze!" Dulcy roared, blowing out a stream of frigid air from her nostrils, instantly freezing the SWAT-Bots and E-100's upon coming into contact.

"Run for it!" Sally yelled as the E-100's quickly blasted out of their icy shells while the SWAT-Bot's remained frozen.

"You heard Sally!" Chuck yelled, "Let's get out of here!"

"You guys run ahead!" Sonic yelled, turning towards the E-100's, "I'll take care of these lame brains!"

As the others ran towards Chuck's hideout, Sonic whipped out one of the power rings in his pack, both he and the ring began glowing brightly. "It's juice time!", He said as he began spinning like a top, creating a wild tornado. The cyclone destroyed the frozen SWAT-Bot's, while the E-100's dodged the twister with relative ease. Sonic moved the twister in the E-100's direction, increasing the size of the twister, ripping up the ground beneath him. To his surprise, Delta and Gamma flew through the top of the cyclone, knocking him off balance and dissipating the vortex. Regaining his balance, Sonic found himself face to face with Delta, Gamma, and Epsilon.

"Sorry, guys." He said, grabbing another power ring out of his backpack, "But I gotta run!" Sonic propelled himself into the air by absorbing the energy created by the power ring and turning it into physical strength. "See ya later!" He yelled, landing on the roof of the building behind him and running across the rooftops. He turned his head as he heard the whining of jet engines, as he saw Delta, Gamma, and Epsilon pursuing him in the air.

"These guys just don't give up." he thought to himself, "Time to give 'em the slip!". Jumping down into the streets, he grabbed the third power ring out of his backpack, it's energy gave him an extra boost to achieve super-sonic speed, as he sped off into the distance, far away from the E-100's.

The robots landed on the ground below, staring down the hedgehog's path.

*OBJECTIVE FAILED* Gamma droned emotionlessly.

*RECOMMENDED COURSE OF ACTION: CONTACT COMMANDER SNIVELY* Epsilon continued in the same monotone voice.

*CONTACTING HEADQUARTERS* Delta picked up Epsilon's train of conversation.

* * *

><p>1415 Hours, Snively's Headquarters, Snively's Laboratory.<p>

In his laboratory, Snively watched as the multi-limbed repair droids took Beta and Zeta's still-intact remains and began to rebuild their individual exo-skeletons with the schematics provided to them by Snively.

The communicator on Snively's wrist began flashing, *INCOMING MESSAGE FROM E-100 UNIT*

Snively walked away from his observation point of Beta and Zeta's reconstruction and switched on his communicator, "What is it, Gamma?"

*SIR, WE LOCATED THE GROUP OF FREEDOM FIGHTERS FROM KNOTHOLE AT THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE CITY.*

"Did you capture them?" Snively asked.

Delta responded, *WE WERE UNABLE TO APPREHEND THEM. THE DRAGON IDENTIFIED AS DULCY DESTROYED THE SWAT-BOT'S, AND WHILE WE WERE OCCUPIED WITH THE HEDGEHOG IDENTIFIED AS SONIC, THE OTHER FREEDOM FIGHTERS ESCAPED.*

Snively gritted his teeth angrily, but then relaxed, "Hmm, I see why my uncle always had trouble capturing that miserable, little hedgehog. Gamma, return to base. Epsilon, pursue the dragon and apprehend her. Delta, track down the other renegades, and keep me updated on their positions."

*AFFIRMATIVE, SIR* All three droids droned in unison as Snively switched off his communicator.

Snively walked back to his original position to oversee the repair drones' work. "It's only a matter of time before they acknowledge their defeat, and then all of Mobius shall be mine." He said confidently, a malicious grin spreading across his face.

* * *

><p>1417 Hours, Robotropolis, Chuck's Hideout.<p>

Sally, Rotor, Chuck and Bunnie ran through the shadows of the buildings of Robotropolis, not stopping until they had reached an out-of-the-way alley.

Chuck began rummaging through the trash that had accumulated in the alley, "Come on," he muttered, "I know I buried the remote in this pile."

"Uh, Charles, I hate to rain on your parade," Bunnie interrupted, her ears on full alert, "but we've got one of those robots followin' us!"

"Bingo, here it is!" Triumphantly, Chuck pulled out a trash covered remote, and pressed the center button. In response to his pushing the button, a door in one of the piles of garbage, disguised as garbage, opened upwards with the sound of whining hydraulics. Yellow light flooded out, nearly blinding the others.

"Everyone, get inside!" Sally commanded, pointing to the door.

After Chuck, the last one to enter his makeshift home, closed the door, the figure of Delta stepped in from the outside of the alley.

Delta's form became distorted as it quickly faded into shadow, *STEALTH MODE ENGAGED. BEGINNING TRANSMISSION OF INTERCEPTED RADIO COMMUNICATIONS*

* * *

><p>1418 Hours, Snively's Headquarters<p>

"Hmm, so this is where the old hedgehog was hiding." Snively mused, sitting atop his chair, with Gamma standing next to him as he observed the footage recorded by Delta's helmet-cam. The footage showed Sally and the others, unaware of Delta's presence, entering through a concealed door into an unassuming pile of garbage.

"Delta, play their radio communications." Snively ordered, "It's time to see what they're hiding."

Sally's unmistakable voice spoke up with urgency, *_Sally Acorn to Lower Mobius. Come in, Lower Mobius._*

*_Lower Mobius responding, this is Griff._* A deep, male voice responded, *_What's the problem?_*

*We've got a problem* Chuck's gravelly voice responded, *Robotropolis is currently crawling with SWAT-Bots.*

*_We've been aware of that for a while now._* another voice responded, *_We detected SWAT-Bot patrol's in the tunnels earlier this morning. We've had to block off all the exits until we're sure it's safe to go out._*

*_Whatever you plan on doing,_* Chuck said, *_Keep the exits blocked. There are more machines then just the SWAT-Bots, and they're much, much more deadly then the SWAT-Bots_.*

*_How dangerous are they?_* Griff's now-concerned voice responded, *_What are they capable of? Who are they?_*

*_Very dangerous, and capable of great destruction._* Chuck's suddenly solemn voice responded, *_They're called the E-100's. If you go out against them you'll be slaughtered._*

*_What should we do?_* Griff's voice responded.

*_We go by the original plan._* Sally's voice spoke up, *C_harles will stay here and stay in radio contact with the others. Tails and Dulcy will keep an eye out for other Freedom Fighters in the sky. Rotor, Bunnie and I will head to the Roboticizer Chamber while the other Freedom Fighter groups provide a distraction for the SWAT-Bots. Once we infiltrate Robotnik's Headquarters, we'll reprogram the Roboticizer. Once we finish, we'll radio the others. Do you understand?_*

*_Understood._* Griff responded, *_We'll stay down here, and if they break down the barrier, we'll hold them off until everyone is headed for Knothole. Then we'll bury the city. Griff out._*

*TRANSMISSION ENDED*

"Excellent work, Delta." Snively praised, "Resume your stealth position. Wait until I give the command, and then attack the hedgehog's base. Then bring him back to headquarters. Gamma!" he barked, turning to the red automaton standing next to him, "Have all SWAT-Bot units return and prepare for the Freedom Fighter's attack and leave a unit to guard the Roboticizer. We will let the Freedom Fighters think they have gained our attention, and when they least expect it, we will counter-attack. When the others have infiltrated the facility, they will be captured." A malicious grin spread across his face, "At long last, my uncle's dream shall finally be accomplished, the crushing of the Freedom Fighter rebellion and the death of Sonic the Hedgehog!"

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Just a quick question, but can anyone tell me who Paulo and Dirk are, exactly? Also, I never read the Archie comics, so I might not get comic book related characters down correctly.<p> 


	5. Collapse

Author's Note: Once again, sorry for the late update. I hate to sound like the guy who makes excuses when it takes so long to publish something. Anyway, I'm glad to see that people are enjoying the story so far. Okay, now this is where things get exciting. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that... Okay, maybe a little.

* * *

><p>1430 Hours, Skies of Robotropolis<p>

Dulcy circled around in the sky above Robotnik's Headquarters, similar to the way a vulture circles a dying animal.

*Dulcy.* Her ear-communicator buzzed, *What's your position?*

"I'm in the sky near Robotnik's Headquarters, Sally." The dragon responded, "If any of the other squads need air support, I'll be there!"

*Okay, Dulc... We'l... ra... yo.. o... we'r... fin...* Sally's voice suddenly became distorted, and was quickly followed by static, and then silence.

"Sally? Sally?" Dulcy asked, pressing the button on her ear communicator, "What did you say? I couldn't hear you!"

*HALT INTRUDER. STAY WHERE YOU ARE OR BE FIRED UPON* Dulcy heard a robotic voice drone from below her. She looked down to see the figure of Epsilon looking up at her, with weapon activated.

"Oh, Yeah? Eat this!" Searing flames poured out of Dulcy's mouth down towards Epsilon. The orange robot quickly dodged the fiery inferno and rocketed into the sky towards the dragon.

"Piece of cake." The dragon thought, flashing her claws and flying head-on towards her opponent. Epsilon's metal fist and gun clashed with Dulcy's claws. Bright sparks flew off of Epsilon's armor as they collided. Turning Epsilon's weight against itself, Dulcy threw the orange automaton to the ground about a mile below.

Epsilon impacted on the ground, creating a small crater. Dulcy landed rather gracefully, a rather rare feat for her, and beamed with pride as she viewed her work.

Epsilon lay on it's back, it's armor was cracked and dented all over, it's green optics were broken, it's gun was bent at a right angle, it's helmet was smashed in, and it's ripped-off limbs lay near it's body.

"Try and get up from that!" She growled.

*SELF-REPAIR SEQUENCE INITIATING* Epsilon's smashed voice box suddenly crackled. Instantly, the damage inflicted on Epsilon's armor, helmet, optics and weapon vanished as it's armor quickly regenerated itself. It's circuitry in its shoulder joints reached out, snagged and re-attached it's limbs onto it's body. It's bent gun straightened out and regenerated into a fully repaired weapon. Dulcy stepped back, completely shocked, as Epsilon stood back up on it's lower servos, fully repaired and healed.

"Okay, didn't see that coming." she remarked.

*RE-INITIATING PURSUIT OF TARGET* Epsilon droned, cocking it's gun.

Dulcy backed up, spreading out her wings, "Sorry, but I gotta fly! Goin' up!". She flew up into the sky, with Epsilon following closely behind her. Dulcy turned around, inhaled, and unleashed an icy stream of condensation from her nostrils.

This attack proved to be of little use, as Epsilon evaded the icy blast and continued it's pursuit of Dulcy. Epsilon began firing it's gun rapidly, a majority of the shots missed the airborne dragon.

*PREPARING STUN GUN* it droned, as below the gun's surface, the bullets were replaced with a fast-acting stun beam. It aimed at the back of Dulcy's rather large figure and fired. The blast struck the dragon, and she instantly began falling from the sky towards the ground, like a rock dropped from a tree. Dulcy was now sound asleep, so she didn't feel Epsilon's cold, metal servo grab a firm hold of her tail.

"I'm comin' home, Ma." She muttered in her sleep, completely unaware that her face was a mere four or five inches away from impacting against the metal floor.

*OBJECTIVE COMPLETE* Epsilon droned, firing up it's jet booster and rocketing into the sky, hoisting the unconscious dragon up with it, *RETURNING TO BASE*

* * *

><p>1440 Hours, Chuck's Hideout<p>

Chuck sat at his communications terminal, staying in radio contact with the other Freedom Fighter Squads. He turned around as he heard the door to his hideout opening and Sonic rushed in in a blur of blue, red, and white.

"Sonic," Chuck breathed, caught completely by surprise, "You startled me, sonny."

"Sorry 'bout that, Uncle Chuck." Sonic said, "Where're Sal and the others?"

Chuck turned his attention to the radar, the flashing lights on the screen indicated the trackers that were installed into the communicators, "They're headed towards Robotnik's Headquarters. The other Freedom Fighter Squads are positioned outside to distract the SWAT-Bot's so Sally and the others can get in."

"Got it." Sonic responded, "Tell Sal I'm juicin' her way! I'm outta here!" He zoomed out of Chuck's hideout, the door closed behind him as he ran out of the alley.

Chuck turned back to his radio, "Sally, Sonic's headed towards your position."

_*Thanks Charles, we're outside of Robotnik's Headquarters now. We'll radio you once we're finished inside.*_ Sally responded, her broadcast channel terminated.

_*Uncle Chuck!*_ The unmistakably youthful, yet surprisingly urgent, voice of Tails burst through the brief silence, _*We've got a problem!*_

"What's wrong, Tails?" Chuck asked, he felt his pulse quicken.

_*Dulcy was captured!*_

Chuck did a double take, "Dulcy was captured? By who?"

He never got Tails' answer, for at that moment, the door was broken down by a hard punch from Delta. The blue automaton stomped into the headquarters.

*FOREIGN COMMUNICATIONS BLOCKED. APPREHENSION OF SIR CHARLES HEDGEHOG COMMENCING. ACTIVATING STUN GUN* Delta droned, aiming it's weapon at the Robian hedgehog.

With his red eyes open wide and his pulse racing, Chuck turned to run away from the robot. He had barely taken one step before he fell forward on the metal floor, unconscious.

Concluding that Chuck was asleep, Delta stooped down, picked him up and slung him over it's shoulder. The blue automaton stomped out of the hedgehog's base, stopped, turned around, withdrew a grenade from within it's body and tossed it into the building.

Delta fired up it's rocket booster and flew up into the skyline. Down below, the grenade it had tossed into the interior exploded, sending up a pillar of fire into the sky and consuming the hedgehog's hideout in a mixture of fire, burnt metal and garbage.

* * *

><p>1445 Hours, Snively's Laboratory.<p>

Snively yawned as he watched the Repair-Bot's take Beta and Zeta's remains, scan the blueprints that he had provided them, and begin to rebuild their individual exo-skeletons. He noted with satisfaction that the process was going much more smoothly then he had originally anticipated.

*LORD SNIVELY*

He turned to the towering figure of Gamma standing behind him, stepping back a bit after mistaking him for Robotnik, "What is your report, Gamma?"

*EPSILON COMPLETED IT'S ASSIGNMENT TO APPREHEND THE DRAGON IDENTIFIED AS DULCY. DELTA COMPLETED IT'S ASSIGNMENT TO APPREHEND THE HEDGEHOG IDENTIFIED AS SIR CHARLES. BOTH PRISONERS HAVE BEEN DETAINED IN THE DETENTION CENTER. SWAT-BOTS ARE IN POSITION FOR COUNTER-ATTACK AGAINST FREEDOM FIGHTERS AND EQUIPPED WITH NEW INFORMATION TRANSFERENCE PROGRAM*

"Impressive." Snively remarked, taking irony in the fact that the robots his uncle had abandoned were now carrying out his plans, "My uncle sadly never investigated the potential in the creation of more E-100's." He turned back to oversee the drones' work, "Keep both prisoners in their cells, and deploy remaining SWAT-Bot's within the building to the Roboticizer. We will want to have a proper reception for our 'guests' when they arrive."

Without another word, Gamma turned sharply 180 degrees and entered the elevator, the doors closed behind it and rose back up to the higher levels.

A wide, sinister grin crept across Snively's mouth, and he burst into throngs of maniacal laughter.

* * *

><p>1450 Hours, Robotropolis, Outside of The Roboticizer Facility.<p>

Right in front of Robotnik's Headquarters, the Freedom Fighters lay in hiding.

One of the Freedom Fighter squads was known as The Wolf Pack, a society of wolves who lived in The Great Unknown. Their leader was a feminine wolf named Lupe. On her cheek was a scar, a reminder of the first days of Robotnik's takeover. It was during that troubled time that she lost her father, mother and siblings to Robotnik's machines.

The Southern and Eastern Freedom Fighter's were under the command of Palo, an anthropomorphic rhino, and Dirk, an anthropomorphic bear. Little was known about their pasts and personalities.

Commanding the attack was Ari, an anthropomorphic ram who had encountered Sonic and his friends a short time ago. He had been forced by Robotnik to lead the hedgehog into a trap, and then had to rescue him.

"How long are we supposed to wait here?" Diablo, an anthropomorphic wolf wearing a red vest, growled impatiently, "I can't wait forever!"

"We're not supposed to attack until we get the signal from the Princess!" Canus, a much larger wolf, objected, "Besides, if we make any false moves, it'll be curtains for all of us."

_*Sally Acorn to Ari.*_ The ram's communicator buzzed, _*You may begin your attack!*_

"Right, you heard The Princess." Ari commanded, turning to the other Freedom Fighters, "Lupe, you and your Freedom Fighters scout out ahead. Palo, Dirk, you and your Freedom Fighters are with me."

"Finally, some action!" Diablo growled with satisfaction, scraping his clawed feet against the floor. He leaped over their makeshift shelter and charged on all fours towards the building. Lupe and the others emerged and charged.

Suddenly, an impossibly vast armada of SWAT-Bot's began swarming out of the allies and buildings in the vicinity of the battlefield.

Leeta and Lyco, two Wolf Pack members, were able to defeat a fair number of SWAT-Bot's by using their knowledge and skill with acrobatics, via flips, kicks and jumps.

Canus used his impressive strength to tear apart many SWAT-Bot's right down to their cores.

Diablo shredded through SWAT-Bot after SWAT-Bot, until sparking machinery lay in a circle all around him. He growled with satisfaction as he heard more SWAT-Bot's approaching, "Bring it on." he growled.

Lupe dodged the multiple laser blasts fired by the SWAT-Bot's, all the while shooting back at the machines. She eventually found herself back-to-back with Ari in the heat of the battle.

"I never thought I'd be back here again." Ari remarked as he shot down another SWAT-Bot.

Lupe withdrew a dagger from it's sheath on her right leg, and cut off a SWAT-Bot's head by slicing clean through it's neck, "I never thought I'd ever be here in my life."

Ari kicked down a SWAT-Bot to the ground, blasting it through the head, "Do you have a personal issue with Robotnik?"

"You could say that." Lupe said, slicing another SWAT-Bot straight down the middle of it's body with her dagger.

Ari shot down another SWAT-Bot, "Something's not right, this is too easy."

Lupe stabbed through and tore out a SWAT-Bot's core, "You're right, they're not putting up much of a challenge. Where are those new robots Charles mentioned?"

Ari shot a SWAT-Bot's arm clean off, "We don't have time to worry about that now. Let's just hope we can hold these 'Bot's off until Princess Sally and her Freedom Fighter's finish their mission."

* * *

><p>1600 Hours, Outside of Robotnik's Headquarters.<p>

Outside of Robotnik's Headquarters, Sally, Bunnie and Rotor hid behind a pile of broken machine parts. They heard the resulting din from the front of the building.

"Okay, our diversion's created." Sally said, turning back to the intimidating metal door, "Now we just have to get inside."

The trio ran out from behind their shelter to the entrance. Rotor and Sally pushed against the door, but to no avail.

"The door won't budge." Rotor panted after a few minutes of pushing against the door, wiping his hand across his sweaty brow.

Sally turned to Bunnie, "A little help, Bunnie?"

"Be my pleasure, darlin'" Bunnie said, flexing her left arm, "Stand back!"

The cyborg rabbit crouched down and worked her metallic fingers under the door. Using her robot strength, she pushed up the door with relatively little trouble.

"That did it!" Sally said, as she, Bunnie and Rotor ran inside, "Next stop, The Roboticizer!"

* * *

><p>1605 Hours, Roboticizer chamber.<p>

The Roboticizer Chamber was the room in Robotnik's Headquarters that was the most feared. It was where the Mobians who entered it came out changed forever. The Roboticizer was 4 identical glass tubes with a ray on the roof that converted the flesh-and-blood Mobians into steel Robians.

The door to the chamber opened and Rotor, Sally and Bunnie ran in and stopped. They took in their surroundings. The Roboticizer was right in front of them. Located next to the wall opposite the machine was the computer system that oversaw the Roboticizer's operations.

Sally turned to Rotor, "Rotor, are you sure you can re-wire the Roboticizer?"

"If I can't," Rotor said, taking out a screwdriver from his backpack and flipping a panel on the floor open, "this whole place is about to be leveled to the ground."

"Then get to it, sugah!" Bunnie responded.

"It's not as easy as it looks." Rotor said, "This isn't some copy, like the De-Roboticizer back in my lab, this is the real deal. I've got to be careful so I don't screw up the circuitry in this machine."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that, Freedom Fighters." An eerily familiar voice rang out from the shadows, suddenly putting them on edge.

"Wait..." Bunnie said, her ears perking up, "That voice sounds familiar."

"No." Sally said, coming to a sudden realization, "It couldn't be..."

Suddenly, the wall behind them slid open, and SWAT-Bot's began swarming through the entrance, led by the E-100's. The SWAT-Bot's parted into two lines to allow passage for the last person Sally, Rotor and Bunnie ever expected to see.

"Snively..."

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Sorry if anyone finds this chapter a little lacking. FYI, I never read the comics of Sonic the Hedgehog, so I might not get the personalities of comic book related characters down correctly. But tips on their individual personalities would be appreciated.<p> 


	6. Capture

Author's Note: I just want to apologize for the long delay in updates, but I'm back now and with a new chapter to wet your appetites. Be warned, this chapter gets a little... graphic in one scene. That's just a little warning for the kids reading this fanfic, but anyway, onto the story.

* * *

><p>1605 Hours, Outside of Snively's Headquarters<p>

Not long after the SWAT-Bot's had begun their attack, Ari, Lupe, Palo, Dirk and Canus shot down the last SWAT-Bot's in their section of the battlefield.

"Stay alert!" Ari barked to the others, "More SWAT-Bot's could be on the way."

Not even a mere second after he had said this, SWAT-Bot's seemed to swarm from almost every alley and building in the vicinity of the battlefield.

The five Freedom Fighters quickly found themselves in a tight circle of SWAT-Bots. In vain, they fired their weapons to try and thin out of the robots' ranks.

Suddenly, the savage Diablo charged in on all fours from outside the circle, sending the SWAT-Bot's flying high into the sky. He roared with satisfaction as he charged off to face more foes.

"It looks like actions do speak louder than words." Canus commented as he watched the Mobian wolf sink his razor-sharp teeth into the armor of another SWAT-Bot as easily as one would eat a sandwich, "At least in Diablo's case."

"Freedom Fighters, take cover!" Ari barked as SWAT-Bot's continued to pour onto the battlefield.

Breaking into a mad dash, all of the Freedom Fighters quickly dove behind makeshift shelters.

"What's going on?" Ari asked, ducking below to avoid the laser fire, "Just five minutes ago we were destroying these things like flies. Now they just got ten times more deadly!"

"I've noticed it as well." Canus remarked, "It seems that the longer that we've been fighting them, the better they get."

"What are you saying?" Ari questioned, quickly standing up to fire a stray shot at the SWAT-Bot's and ducking down again, "That Robotnik programmed these things to have a brain?"

"No." Canus responded, "I'm saying this whole thing has been a trap. I think the first wave of SWAT-Bot's was deployed in order to assess our abilities. The second wave now seems to know our techniques and fighting skills."

"How is that even possible?" Lupe asked, "Robotnik's dead! There's no way the SWAT-Bot's could be this organized without someone pulling the strings!"

Before Canus could respond, the SWAT-Bot's quickly swarmed around them and disabled their weapons with an EMP pulse. All five of the Mobians watched helplessly as the SWAT-Bot's approached them with weapons activated.

"Hey, SWAT-Butt's!" a voice shouted from the sky.

The SWAT-Bot's and Freedom Fighters glanced up as Tails streaked towards the ground and landed in a fighting stance he had learned from Bunnie. He withdrew his lucky hockey stick and puck from his backpack.

"Eat this, metal heads! This is for Dulcy!" He yelled. He swung the hockey stick and smashed the puck towards the SWAT-Bot's at an impressive speed.

* * *

><p>1615 Hours, Snively's Headquarters, Roboticizer Chamber<p>

"Well, well, well" Snively gloated as the SWAT-Bot's surrounded Sally, Bunnie and Rotor, "It seems as if three little Freedom Fighter bugs have entrapped themselves in my web."

"How did you survive Doomsday's explosion, Snively?" Sally asked.

Snively began slowly pacing back and forth before them, "What my dear uncle never discovered is that I had a secret chamber installed that I would be able to use to tunnel under the ground if there was ever an unfortunate 'incident' that occured. It would be even more tragic if my uncle's escape pod did not have enough fuel to escape the explosion. Once things had calmed down, I left the ruins of the machine and returned to the city. I suspected that you Freedom Fighter rebels would plan to attack, so I dispatched SWAT-Bot patrols throughout the city under the command of the E-100's. When you evaded my forces, I deployed Delta, and he followed you straight to Sir Charles' Headquarters."

"You were spying on us?" Rotor asked.

"Yes, Delta's stealth mode made sure that he wasn't seen." Snively said, "I know all about your attack and your friends down in Lower Mobius, and now I have you, Princess Sally! The hedgehog can wait, but I'm sure he won't think twice about saving the love of his life!"

While Snively was monologuing, Bunnie slowly extended her arm to the SWAT-Bot directly behind her. When her fingers brushed against the robot's armor, she clenched her hand around its wrist.

_"Sally-girl, Rotor, run!"_ she whispered hoarsely.

Bunnie whipped her arm around, turning the SWAT-Bot into a makeshift wrecking ball. She began spinning around rapidly, turning herself into a spinning metal-top. Every SWAT-Bot surrounding them was bashed to pieces, leaving Sally and Rotor a clear alley of escape.

Sally and Rotor made a mad dash for the open door. Unfortunately, Gamma and Delta fired stun-beams at them, and both Mobians instantly lay unconscious on the floor.

Unable to do anything for her friends, Bunnie released her hold on the machine and sent it flying towards the E-100's.

Gamma blasted the SWAT-Bot to pieces as it flew towards him.

*ENEMY ASSESSMENT COMPLETE* all three E-100's droned as they approached the rabbit, *DANGER LEVEL: HIGH*

Bunnie found herself surrounded by Gamma, Delta and Epsilon. She jumped and gave a flying round kick meant to hit Delta's optics. Her kick was instead blocked and followed by a right hook punch from Epsilon, sending her flying back against the hard, metal wall. Groaning in pain, she fell face first to the floor.

Bunnie recovered quickly, pushing herself back up and dodging Delta's laser blasts. She skidded to a stop as Gamma and Epsilon stepped in front of her, blocking her path. She attempted to run in the opposite direction, only to find Delta blocking her escape. Quickly, she turned, ran forward, jumped and kicked Epsilon into the wall. She landed and turned to Delta, leaping towards it and pushing it into the wall with her robotic legs.

Having temporarily disabled Delta and Epsilon, she turned to face Gamma. Gamma de-activated its weapon and, with impressive speed, began blocking Bunnie's punches and countered with its own strikes. They were both well-matched opponents, but Snively noticed to his delight that the cyborg rabbit was slowly being worn down.

At one point, Bunnie left herself open to attack. Taking advantage of her fatigue, Gamma hit her with a seemingly unending barrage of punches, ending with an upper cut that knocked the cyborg rabbit to the floor. She struggled against her injuries to push herself up, and found herself staring straight up the barrel of Gamma's gun. Delta and Epsilon stepped forward and followed his lead.

Snively stepped forward into the ring of machines, "Now, Ms. Rabbot, for the sake of your friends, I would suggest that you surrender peacefully."

Bunnie winced in pain from the many bruises on her body, but she still tried to remain strong, "I-In your dreams, Snively!"

Pushing herself up from the floor with great effort, Bunnie dodged a blast from Gamma's gun, somersaulted through the air, landed, turned and threw a fast punch at Snively. Delta, with lightning fast speed, stepped in front of its master, grabbed Bunnie's robotic hand and tore her arm off of her shoulder.

Bunnie shrieked in sheer pain as the circuitry embedded into her left shoulder was ripped out, pulling bits of her flesh and bone with it. She dropped down on her legs, and clutched her right hand over her left shoulder as bright sparks shot off in random directions from the exposed circuitry. Dropping the cyborg rabbit's mangled limb, Delta stepped forward and fired a stun beam from its gun. Bunnie sighed and fell forward face-first to the metal floor, unconscious.

"Excellent work, Delta." Snively praised, kneeling down to observe the unconscious Mobian's sparking circuitry embedded into her now-open shoulder, "Fascinating... a combination of both mechanical and organic components."

"Delta, Epsilon!" He barked, "Take the walrus and the Princess to the detention center. Gamma! Take the rabbit to the lab! It's time that I finish what my uncle started."

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Yeah, I know, kind of a short chapter. But pretty intense, wasn't it? Stay Tuned!<p> 


	7. Revelations

Author's Note: Hey everyone! Sorry for the long hiatus, but now I'm back and ready to roll!

* * *

><p>1740 Hours, Robotropolis, Detention Center<p>

In the Detention Center beneath Snively's Headquarters, Chuck sat on the cot in his cell, alone and deep in thought. His thoughts were distracted as two identical robots stomped into his view.

To his dismay, he saw Delta and Epsilon carrying Rotor and Sally like sacks of luggage. Delta halted in front of the controls of the cell and placed its servo on the control panel.

*OPEN CELL NUMBER 29*

The door to the cell slid open, and Sally and Rotor were dumped on the floor. Chuck jumped off of his cot and examined them. To his relief, they were relatively unharmed, with only minor scrapes.

Chuck was silent as Delta and Epsilon left. After they had gone, he shook them both vigorously.

"Ow, my head." groaned the walrus as he sat up, "Uncle Chuck? What are you doing here?"

"After Sonic left to meet up with you, Delta attacked my headquarters and stunned me." Chuck explained, "When I woke up, I found myself here. What happened to you kids?"

Sally and Rotor looked at each other and then back at Chuck.

"Snively's behind the whole thing." Sally sighed, "He knew we were coming and was waiting for us with a whole squad of SWAT-Bot's and the E-100's. We tried to run while Bunnie..." Her eyes widened and she quickly glanced around the cell, "Oh my gosh, she's still back there!"

"And if she tried to fight, she probably died doing so." Chuck sighed, slumping down to the floor, "The E-100's are the most powerful robots ever created. She never even stood a chance."

"How could you know that?" Rotor asked, "Robotnik was the one who built them."

"He wasn't the only one to build them." Chuck said.

For a moment, he was silent. What he said next shocked them both.

"I helped."

"You helped build the E-100's?" Sally shouted, "Why didn't you tell us? Because of them, we've been captured, Bunnie's probably dead and Sonic's being led into a trap!"

"Let me explain, Sally." Chuck interrupted, calmly but firmly, "Before Robotnik's coup, the Mobotropolis army was fighting against a mysterious cult of Mobians called the Nocturnus clan. After a surprise attack in the Great Unknown resulted in numerous deaths, King Acorn realized that his soldiers were no match for steel-hided robots. He and his advisors, after a suggestion from Robotnik, decided that robots of our own were needed to fight the Nocturnus's machines."

"And then my father asked you to create the E-100's." Sally interrupted, realizing what he was going to say.

"Actually..." Chuck replied, "He asked Robotnik, Snively and I to create the machines. I was hesitant at first, because I didn't want to create a repeat of the Roboticizer disaster. I eventually agreed, but I made it clear that I would be in charge of programming each machine."

"Why would you do that?" asked Rotor.

"I wanted to make sure that each machine would be programmed with a basic knowledge of right and wrong." Chuck explained, "That way, they would show restraint and not take an innocent Mobian's life. Unfortunately, it looks like Snively erased their original programming."

"And it cost Bunnie her life." Sally commented sadly.

"I know, and I'm sorry. Anyway," Chuck continued, "The first robot to be built was E-100: Alpha and he was a complete failure."

"How?" asked Rotor.

"His weapons were prone to overheating and often melted down or exploded during combat sessions, so he was re-programmed and re-fitted as a trash-bot. Snively and Robotnik looked at the flaws in Alpha's design and created E-101: Beta. They limited his weapons to hand-blasters and made his body less bulky to avoid another incident. During the field tests, Beta performed flawlessly, inspiring the creation of Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, and Zeta.

"Did you build any more?" Rotor asked. Being the Freedom Fighters' resident mechanic, he had a knack and a keen interest for machines, robotics and any other subject that involved mechanics and electrical components.

"As a matter of fact, we did." The hedgehog replied, "After we finished Zeta, we experimented with merging Mobian designs with the new E-100's. E-106 to E-122 performed as well as the original five. We even created a few by reverse-engineering Nocturnus tech we had recovered over the course of the war. For the last robot, Snively suggested taking the original E-101 design and upgrading it."

"What upgrades were added?" Rotor inquired.

"Snively and Robotnik increased its size, added deadlier weapons, and re-enforced its armor tenfold. I built and installed a state-of-the-art AI that could control all the weapons that were installed." Chuck responded, "It took us a few weeks, but when we were done, we believed that they had created the ultimate machine- E-123: Omega. Soon after Omega was created, the E-100's were placed under Robotnik's command. After they were enlisted, it wasn't long until the E-100's defeated the Nocturnus. And then..."

"Robotnik began his coup." Sally interrupted, for she knew the rest of the story, "And you were roboticized."

"After that," Chuck sighed, "I never saw them again..."

"Until today..."

"Wait a minute," Rotor interrupted, "If we only saw Gamma, Delta and Epsilon, then what happened to the others?"

"Most of the E-100's were destroyed during the war. Only Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta and Omega survived." Chuck explained, "I don't know why we only saw three in the city today. Maybe Robotnik and Snively decided to experiment on the others."

"No surprise there." Rotor responded, looking forlornly out of their cell, "So, how are we getting out of here?"

Chuck stood up and walked to the bars of their cell, peering out into the hallway, "Thankfully, this is the time when the patrols are the lightest in this sector, which makes now the perfect time for our escape! Sally?"

Sally activated NICOLE, "NICOLE, activate central laser, full power!"

The lens on the top half of NICOLE fired an energy beam straight through the wall and the control panel. Sparks shot out in all directions.

*ERROR... ERROR... SYSTEMS OFFLINE* It repeated several times before silencing.

The door to their cell slid open.

"That did it!" Rotor cheered as they ran out, "Let's get outta here!"

"Wait!" Chuck interrupted, bringing Rotor and Sally to a halt, "We have to find Dulcy!"

"Dulcy's here?"

"Before I was captured, Tails contacted me and told me that Dulcy had been captured."

"And why would she be here?"

"Snively probably didn't want an angry dragon on his hands when she woke up." the hedgehog commented, kneeling down on the floor and dragging his fingers through the dirt, "So he would have sent her here. The dragon cells are at the lowest part of the facility, so we'll have to take a short cut. Fortunately..."

Chuck pressed a small, almost invisible button on the floor and a rectangular portion of the wall in front of him swung open. It led into a tunnel that split into a T-shape.

"I happen to know how to find one."

"Whoa... How'd you know about that?" asked a rather impressed and flabbergasted Rotor as they entered the hole.

"I designed it." Chuck explained as the door swung closed behind them, "I built these hidden passageways before Robotnik took over. They could be used to get from one place to another in case of emergency."

"Like that passage that led us to Knothole as kids?" asked Sally.

"Exactly," Chuck affirmed, walking down the right branch of the passage, "Come on, Dulcy isn't going to rescue herself."

* * *

><p>Unknown Time, Unknown Location<p>

There was a light...

It was a bright light, and it hurt.

In fact, light didn't even register in her mind. She couldn't remember who she was or how she came to be here, wherever here was. She only wanted the light to go away.

As the haze in her head cleared, she became aware of a numbness in her left shoulder. She shifted her gaze to her shoulder and saw a completely metallic limb in place of a real limb.

Almost instantly, hazy images came flooding into her mind: Sally and Rotor lying unconscious on the floor, Snively's malicious grin, Delta standing in front of her, its stun-gun activated and pointed at her, a scream of pure agony that she recognized as her own, and finally her crushed, lifeless robotic arm on the floor.

As her luminous green eyes adjusted to the brightness before her, she realized that she was lying on her back on a cold, flat surface. Once she was fully awake, she realized that her arms and legs were restrained by metallic cuffs and the light in front of her was really an electric light on the ceiling. From her supine position on the table, Bunnie could see a monitor across the room with, oddly enough, a readout of her vital stats and an x-ray of her skeleton.

_'What the hoo-hah happened? What am ah doin' here?'_ She wondered,_ 'On second thought, where IS here?'_

The clamps that had been restraining Bunnie's arms and legs suddenly snapped open. She slowly sat up, stretching her sore body after lying down on her back for such an undetermined period of time.

Wait a minute...

Her arm felt strange. Not strange as in uncomfortable, but strange as in... well, strange. She clenched and unclenched her fist, and moved her arm around in a circular motion.

At first, she couldn't determine what it was, and then it hit her. Her arm slid much more smoothly along her shoulder without roughly scraping her fur, as it had done in the past.

_'Ah don't believe it._' She thought to herself as she observed her arm, _'Who did this?'_

"It's a magnificent piece of machinery, wouldn't you agree, Ms. Rabbot?" A shrill voice echoed throughout the entire room, "But it's nothing compared to what you're fully capable of."

The entrance to the laboratory slid open and Snively, accompanied by Gamma, entered the room

In one fluid motion, Bunnie propelled herself off of the table and landed in a defensive karate stance.

"Now, now…" Snively replied calmly, raising his hands in a peaceful gesture. "There's no need to resort to violence."

"Why'd ya bring me here, Snively?" Bunnie snarled, not in the mood for chivalry.

"Is that any way to speak to the person who repaired your arm?" Snively replied, obviously insulted, "Speaking of which, I believe you have already discovered one of the improvements I made to your robotic components."

This piqued Bunnie's curiosity, she relaxed her stance and folded her arms, "What kinda 'improvements'?"

"Your arm now has increased mobility, speed, and moves much more fluidly along your skin. I also reconfigured it to transform into any weapon of your choosing." Snively replied, "It's a simple process. You simply visualize a weapon in your mind and the limb changes its appearance."

"Hmm..." Bunnie glanced down at her robotic arm and visualized a circular saw in her mind.

The metal plating on her wrist slid back. Several jagged metallic plates flipped out and merged to form a red razor-edged saw.

"Oh mah stars!" She gaped in astonishment as the blade spun rapidly, "This is amazin'!"

"Yes!" Snively exclaimed, rubbing his gloved hands together delightedly, "And just imagine the improvements I can make after you are completely roboticized!"

"What?" Bunnie snapped, her amazement turning into bewilderment and then fear.

"I can make even more improvements after I complete the robotization process that your friends interrupted." Snively responded, now standing in front of her.

"N-no! I-I…" She shouted, stumbling back in fear.

Anxiety overcame Bunnie as she fell to her knees. For nearly three years, she and her friends had been looking for a cure to her roboticized form. Now, Snively wanted to turn her into the one thing that she had feared of becoming ... a monster, a soulless machine robbed of its free will.

No!

"Ah won't let ya do that ta me or anyone else!" She shouted. She stood up and converted her arm into an energy blaster. She pointed it at Snively.

"Amusing." Snively scoffed, not intimidated in the least, "You really think you can delay the inevitable?"

"Ah'll fight as long as ah have hope!" Bunnie snarled, her green eyes burning with intense fire as her weapon prepared to blast Snively's smug grin.

Snively continued to look at the rabbit with a bored expression. He activated a transmitter on his wrist.

Suddenly, Bunnie's weapon reverted back and her hand fell limp to her side. Her legs buckled, she fell forward to her knees and then face first to the floor.

"Wha... Ah can't move!" She shouted as she struggled to push up her body with her right arm, "What did ya do, Snively?"

"This transmitter activates cutoff circuits that were installed into your robotic components while you were unconscious. They instantly disable any machine they're implanted into." Snively responded menacingly, standing above her and staring down at her with a look that clearly expressed his superiority, "They're quite useful if one of my test subjects were to rebel against me."

"So that's all ah am to ya?" Bunnie snarled, propping up her entire body with her right arm, "One of your test subjects?"

Snively slapped her face. Her right arm slipped and she fell face-first on the floor.

"You think I'm hurting you?" Snively spoke harshly, his eyes burning with anger, "I am trying to help you! The limits your body has will be surpassed once I finish the robotization process and complete your transformation!"

"And what if ah don't wanna be roboticized?" Bunnie shouted, glaring up at Snively.

Snively kneeled down and leaned in close to her face, "I'm afraid you don't have much choice in the matter, Ms. Rabbot." he growled.

"Gamma!" he barked, standing back up and taking something out of his pocket, "Prep her for robotization."

*YES SIR*

As Gamma picked up Bunnie, she saw after a quick glance that Snively was holding one of their wrist communicators.

"Where did ya get that?"

"That is no concern of yours." Snively responded, fiddling with the transmitter, "Rather, you should be concerned about the well being of your friends, particularly the hedgehog."

Gamma carried Bunnie over to a floating stretcher and placed her on her back. It fastened her arms and legs down with metallic cuffs, grasped the handlebars and pushed it back to the entrance.

As Bunnie stared up at the ceiling, a tear squeezed out of her eye, slid down her cheek and splashed on the stretcher.

"Sugah-hog... Help me..."

* * *

><p>1745 Hours, Lower Mobius<p>

Below Robotropolis, a city in a hollowed-out granite cavern was abuzz with fear.

Lower Mobius was an underground city built by about 30 Mobians who had fled underground when Robotnik took over Mobotropolis. They had little trouble from Robotnik, except for the Rat-Bots that roamed through the sewers.

At the far side of the city, the last of a group of hovercrafts were entering the pipe that would conveniently lead them to Knothole.

Griff, an anthropomorphic moose and leader of the city's Freedom Fighters, ran into the control room. It oversaw all of the mechanical operations of the city, including the functions of the crystal generator which provided power to all of the machines. Sitting at one of the computer terminals was Durk, an old friend of his.

"I got your message, Durk." He said to the warthog general, "What's up?"

"See for yourself," the warthog replied, pointing to the sonar, "The early-warning sensors detected multiple SWAT-Bot and Patrol-Bot units in the sewers about 10 minutes ago, and they're headed this way! Everyone's out of the city and headed to Knothole, the only thing that needs to be done is overload the generator."

"Get out to the hovercraft." Griff ordered, running over to another monitor.

As Durk ran out of the control center, Griff accessed the main controls of the crystal generator.

"Okay..." He muttered to himself, typing in the self-destruct code, "That should do it!"

*WARNING... WARNING...* an automated computer voice blared through the loudspeakers, *GENERATOR POWER FLUX DETECTED! DETONATION IMMINENT! EVACUATE!*

The crystal began sparking, sending off writhing jolts of electricity in random directions.

Griff rushed out of the control center and scrambled into his prized hover sled next to Durk.

"Strap yourself in!" he yelled as the hovercraft's cover slid shut, "It's gonna be a rough ride!"

Griff fired up the engines and blasted off of the platform, straight towards the tunnel. The hovercraft flew straight into the tunnel and raced towards Knothole.

*WARNING...* The automated computer blared, *WARNING... CRYSTAL GENERATOR DETONATION IN 3... 2... 1...*

The generator exploded, destroying the crystal. Cracks spread out across the ceiling like a spider web and it collapsed, completely burying the city.

The explosion rocked the tunnel, but didn't phase the hovercraft and its two occupants. However, the explosion did have enough force to damage the foundations of the pipes. All too quickly, the tunnel began collapsing behind them.

"Step on it, Griff!" Durk shouted as a cloud of dust rushed up the conduit towards them.

Griff ground his teeth together as he fully opened the throttle, blasting ahead of the dirt cloud and out into the outskirts of Knothole.

Griff landed the hover sled near the grove of trees where the other transports had landed. The pipe collapsed behind them, ensuring that no one would be able to follow them through.

The moose slumped down in his seat. The hovercraft's cover slid back, and both the moose and warthog felt the gentle breeze and the warm rays of the sun.

"Phew..." Griff wheezed, wiping his hand along his sweaty brow, "That was close!"

"Griff!"

Griff disembarked from the hovercraft as an anthropomorphic wolf approached him, "What is it?

"There's someone here who wants to speak with you."

"Who is it?"

"I don't know... but he's insisting."

Griff and Durk shrugged and followed the wolf into the main hub of Knothole: a grove of trees surrounded by the great river. They saw a dark figure concealed in the shadows.

The moose's eyes widened as it stepped into the light, "It can't be..."

"Hey, Griff." The figure spoke, "It's been a while..."

* * *

><p>1750 Hours, Robotropolis, Outside of Snively's Headquarters<p>

Offline and disassembled SWAT-Bot's were scattered across the premises as Tails hit his hockey puck in the last robot's direction. The puck's velocity sent vibrations up and down the SWAT-Bot's body as it collided, dislodging the circuitry and bolts in its frame. With its vital functions and circuits compromised, the SWAT-Bot collapsed, deactivated and in pieces.

Tails caught the puck in his hand as it rebounded, returning it and his hockey stick to his backpack. He turned as Sonic zoomed up behind him.

"Hey there, little bro!" The hedgehog said.

"Good to see ya, big bro!" Tails responded, jumping up and high-fiving Sonic.

Sonic observed the offline SWAT-Bot's behind Tails.

"Looks like you've been a little busy." he remarked.

"Yep!" Tails beamed, "All that practice at dirt-hockey really paid off!"

Lupe, Ari, Palo, Dirk and Canus came out from behind their barricade and approached Sonic. The other Freedom Fighters were busy patrolling the surrounding area for any other SWAT-Bot's.

"Sonic, what are you doing here?" Ari asked, "Weren't you supposed to rendezvous with the princess?"

"I jammed to the Roboticizer, but Sal and the others weren't there." The hedgehog explained, "I figured somethin' must've happened, so I decided to see if you guys knew anything."

"We haven't heard from Princess Sally ever since she gave the order to attack." Ari responded, "I assume that she and the others infiltrated the Roboticizer facility, but I'm not entirely sure."

"Hmm," the hedgehog pondered, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, "Somethin's not right here. Sal hasn't called any of us, and we haven't heard a word from Uncle Chuck either."

*INCOMING TRANSMISSION FROM SALLY ACORN* Sonic's communicator buzzed as if on cue to his musings.

Giving a sigh of relief, Sonic activated his transmitter, "Sonic here. What's up, Sal?"

The voice that spoke was not Sally's. Instead, it was a shrill, scratchy voice that sent shivers up the hedgehog's spine, *Hello, Sonic the Hedgehog.*

* * *

><p>Author's Note: If you want an accurate mental image of the blaster that Bunnie's hand converts into, think of the wrist blaster that Daniel Craig wore in Cowboys and Aliens.<p> 


	8. Metamorphosis

1750 Hours, Robotropolis, Outside of Snively's Headquarters.

"Snively!" Sonic spoke, realizing with sudden horror what was happening, "You're alive?"

_*Are you surprised?*_ Snively's raspy voice asked, _*Tsk, Tsk, and I thought you were less foolish then your friends.*_

Sonic bristled, "Friends? Wait a minute... Sal! Where's Sally?!"

_*Careful, hedgehog. Your impatience will get you into trouble.*_ Snively cautioned, _*Your friends are fine... although, it's a shame what happened to the rabbit.*_

The hedgehog's teeth ground together in anger, "Once I get my hands on you..."

_*Now, now, hedgehog, you don't want to make promises you can't keep.*_ Snively warned, _*Of course, if you ever want to see your 'princess' again, you will meet me at the air hangar in sector Delta-Niner-Bravo-Alpha-Subsection-Three, alone.*_

Sonic's communicator shut off. The other Freedom Fighters crowded around the silent hedgehog, having heard his conversation with the person whose voice they had least expected to hear.

"What should we do, Sonic?" Lupe asked.

Sonic was silent. He suddenly clenched his right fist.

"I'm goin'." He said, turning to the others, "You guys jam on back to Knothole, and take Tails with you."

"B-but Sonic," Tails protested, "What if it's a trap?"

The hedgehog looked down at the pleading expression of the fox, "That's a chance I'll have to take, big guy."

"Are you sure this is the right move, Sonic?" Ari asked, "You could use some backup if Snively has a trap waiting for you."

"Bunnie's dead because I wasn't there to help. I'm not goin' to risk both Sally and Rote." Sonic said, turning his back to the others, "Don't try to stop me."

In a flash, Sonic zoomed away from the battlefield.

All of the Freedom Fighters turned to Ari.

"Well, you heard Sonic!" he barked after a short silence, "We're heading back to Knothole, on the double!"

The rest of the Freedom Fighters followed after Ari. Tails, however, hung back until he lost sight of the others. He turned around and flew after Sonic.

* * *

><p>Same Time, en-route to Roboticizer Chamber<p>

The sound of metallic footfalls filled a seemingly endless corridor as Gamma pushed the stretcher carrying Bunnie down the hall.

Bunnie was silent, deep in thought as she literally floated towards her fate. What would it be like to be fully roboticized? Would it be similar to death, or would she be aware of what she was doing but completely unaware to don anything?

_'Stop it, Bunnie.'_ She told herself, squeezing her eyes shut and clenching her right fist, _'This isn't doin' ya any good.'_

*YOU ARE FRIGHTENED*

Bunnie's eyes snapped open in surprise. While still an emotionless drone, Gamma's voice possessed just the slightest hint of fascination, which was surprising for the complete lack of emotions that had been displayed by the E-100's so far.

"What did ya say?"

*I SAID THAT YOU ARE FRIGHTENED* the automaton replied in the same, emotionless voice.

"Let me guess, it amuses ya?" Bunnie retorted.

*NO. IT INTRIGUES ME*

She was surprised by its response, "Ah thought machines weren't supposed ta have emotions."

*I WAS PROGRAMMED TO OBEY THE COMMANDS OF LORD SNIVELY, NOT TO SIMULATE EMOTIONS. HOWEVER, 45% OF MY PROCESSOR POWER IS CURRENTLY EVALUATING THE EMOTIONAL PATTERNS OF THE INHABITANTS OF THIS PLANET. THEY ARE SMALL, YET THEY ARE WILLING TO SACRIFICE THEIR LIVES FOR OTHERS.*

"Why are ya doin' this?" Bunnie asked after a few minutes.

*I AM FOLLOWING THE COMMANDS OF MY MASTER* Gamma responded.

"Ya don't have to." She responded, "Ya can choose not ta obey him."

*ERROR-THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE* Gamma stated, *MY MAIN DIRECTIVE IS TO SERVE LORD SNIVELY. FAILURE TO DO SO WOULD SUGGEST FLAWS IN MY PROGRAMMING. I AM NOT FLAWED*

"Nothin' in this world is perfect." Bunnie responded, "But we can work against our flaws. Ah didn't choose ta be roboticized, but Sonic…" she paused as long dormant feelings she had felt for the hedgehog since childhood suddenly re-surfaced.

*WE HAVE ARRIVED* Gamma droned as they reached what appeared to be a dead-end. A hidden panel slid open in the wall about five feet from the ground. A red beam shot out and scanned Gamma's optics.

*E-101 GAMMA-RECOGNIZED. ACCESS GRANTED*

A rectangular section of the wall as large and as wide as Gamma slid open to allow access into the Roboticizer chamber. Gamma pushed the stretcher into the middle of the room and opened the clamps. It gently lifted the rabbit from the stretcher and carried her towards the Roboticizer.

It stopped as the glass cover of the Roboticizer slid up. A metal chair with arm and leg clamps emerged from beneath the floor.

It then shifted its gaze down towards the Mobian in its arms. Her remorseful soft, green eyes stared into its cold, green optics, desperately pleading with it.

"Gamma, don't do this, sugah-bot. Please..."

*I'M SORRY*

"Gamma!" Snively, accompanied by Delta, barked from behind them, "What are you doing?"

*I WAS PLACING THE TEST SUBJECT IN THE ROBOTICIZER* Gamma responded quickly. It placed Bunnie in the Roboticizer chair, fastened the clamps around the rabbit's wrists and feet and stepped back as the Roboticizer's glass cover slid back over its occupant.

Delta activated the Roboticizer controls.

*ROBOTICIZER ACTIVATED* It droned, *INITIATING ROBOTIZATION SEQUENCE*

A bright hazy green light appeared above Bunnie. Squeezing her eyes shut, she waited for the beam to engulf her.

*ROBOTICIZER POWER AT 90%*

A single tear squeezed out from her eye and slid down her cheek.

*ROBOTICIZER POWER AT 95%*

She had fought her best, but in the end, she had lost.

*LASER FULLY CHARGED. ACTIVATING IN 3... 2... 1...*

The beam fired down on Bunnie, engulfing her in blinding green light. Her senses were overwhelmed by the energy coursing through her body and she lost consciousness.

* * *

><p>1755 Hours, Robotropolis, Detention Center<p>

After half an hour of running through and sliding down pipes, Chuck pushed open another secret entrance. Chuck and Sally scrambled out, with Rotor following behind. Just then, he stuck.

"Uh, guys?" He asked, grinning sheepishly, "I could use a little help here."

Chuck and Sally grabbed Rotor's hands.

"Okay, Sally..." Chuck said, "We pull on 3. 1... 2... 3!"

They pulled. The walrus flew out and crashed against the opposite wall.

Sally helped Rotor to his feet, "Rotor, you all right?"

Rotor shook his head, "I'll be fine when these lights stop flashing." he said groggily.

"Come on, you two." ordered Chuck, walking ahead of them, "The dragon cells should be down this way."

All three Freedom Fighters walked down the hallway and made a right into another corridor. They whirled around when they heard a low rumbling noise and felt the floor shaking beneath them.

"What's that sound?" Rotor swallowed nervously.

"Wait here, I'll check it out." Chuck walked ahead towards the loud noise. He walked around the corner, began chuckling, and then burst out laughing.

"It's Dulcy!" He shouted, "Her snores were echoing through the hallway."

Breathing a sigh of relief, both Sally and Rotor walked around the corner to meet up with Chuck. There, they saw the sleeping Dulcy behind a door made of a transparent gold metal. She was chained to the wall by cuffs and chains that were made out of the same metal.

"Dulcy! Wake up!" Sally shouted.

The dragon snorted and slowly opened her eyes. She yawned, blinking the sleep out of her eyes, "All right, all right, I'm up, Ma."

As Dulcy's eyes opened, she glanced at her surroundings. Her eyes widened as she glanced to the shackles on her arms and legs, and then looked at the others.

"Sally!" She exclaimed, straining against the chains that restrained her arms and legs, "Where are we?"

"We're in Snively's Headquarters." Sally explained, "And we need your help getting out of here."

"Well, I'd love to, Sally." Dulcy replied, trying to chomp off the cuff on her left arm but quickly deciding against it, "But I'm a little chained up at the moment."

"No problem, Dulcy!" Rotor said, whipping out the blowtorch from his backpack, "I'll get you out of there in no time!"

Sparks flew as Rotor drew the blowtorch along the metal like scissors cutting across a sheet of paper. However, no matter how big he made the flame, no damage was done to the door. After a few minutes, Rotor turned it off and wiped his hand across his sweaty brow.

"Phew!" He breathed, returning the blowtorch to his backpack, "That's some tough metal."

"Hold on a second," Chuck spoke up, walking toward the door and scanning it with his optic sensors. He slammed his fist against the door.

"I should have recognized this metal when we first saw it!" He said, "It's the same metal that the Power Rings are made of!"

"But that's impossible!" Sally objected, "Robotnik only used one of them to build a device that targeted Sonic whenever he ran!"

"Yeah," Rotor spoke up, "And then we took it back!"

"However he got it, it looks like he improved its composition." Chuck responded, scraping off a small sample of the door, "And judging by the looks of it, none of the tools we have will break down this door."

While Chuck and Rotor searched for a weakness in the door, Sally glanced around the location.

_'... The door'_

Sally turned around, confused at what she had just heard.

"Did you guys hear something?" She asked the others.

"I didn't hear anything." Rotor responded.

"I didn't either." Chuck asserted before resuming his examination.

_'...The door. Touch the door'_

There it was again!

'Touch the door?' Sally wondered, 'Touch it with what?'

_'Take your hand, reach out'_ the voice said calmly, but insistently, _'and touch the door. You'll understand...'_

Sally looked down at her hand. If she had heard correctly, some voice inside her head was telling her to do what would probably be a pretty useless action. Then again, she was probably losing it...

_'Okay.'_ She thought to herself, slowly approaching the door and raising her hand towards it, _'Either I've gone completely crazy or I'm about to free Dulcy. Well, here goes nothing!'_

She pressed the palm of her hand against the door. She suddenly felt an invigorating sensation travel down her arm and spread out to her entire body.

Almost instantly, her body and eyes were lit up by a dazzling, almost blinding, pink light. An unnaturally strong wind suddenly blew her ruby red hair into long, flowing strands. A dome of pink energy projected out from Sally and enveloped everyone.

When the light died down, Chuck and Rotor suddenly found themselves outside of Snively's Headquarters. Dulcy was sitting on the ground across from them and was now free of her restraints.

"Wow..." Rotor muttered, clearly in shock, "Sally, how did you do that?"

Sally looked at her hand, "I don't know, Rotor. I just... did it."

Dulcy stood up and stretched her arms, legs and wings, "Climb on, Sally!" she shouted as Chuck and Rotor climbed onto her harness, "We've gotta get outta here before the SWAT-Bot's show up!"

"Thanks, Dulcy." Sally said, levitating into the air and floating before the awestruck dragon and her two passengers, "But I don't think I'll need a ride."

Sally flew up into the skyline while Dulcy, with Chuck and Rotor in tow, flew behind her. All three were confused and rather amazed by the sudden transformation Sally had undergone.

Sally, however, even though she couldn't explain it, knew that all of the ones she loved were in grave danger. This alone quickened her speed as she streaked across the sky.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: So, for those needing an accurate mental image of Sally's powered-up form, think of Dark Super Sonic from Sonic X, only pink instead of black.<p> 


	9. The Beast Within

Author's Note: So, that was quite a twist with the last chapter... okay, so some of you probably knew that would happen, but you might want to prepare yourselves for this one.

* * *

><p>I feel it deep within<p>

It's just beneath the skin

I must confess that I feel like a monster

I hate what I've become

The nightmare's just begun

I must confess that I feel like a Monster

* * *

><p>1810 Hours, Robotropolis, Snively's Headquarters<p>

Sonic raced through the streets of Robotropolis towards the location Snively had sent him. As he neared his destination, he saw that it was a hangar that had been one of their recent targets.

He skidded to a stop and observed the building in front of him. Through the entrance, he saw both SWAT-Bot's and Robians walking about, carrying different mechanical pieces and various technological items. He took a quick peek inside and saw the shadowy outlines of Stealth-Bot's, aircraft with lethal stealth capabilities, dotted throughout the hangar.

"Ol' Needlenose must be up to somethin'..." He thought to himself as he saw the outline of a Stealth-Bot, an aircraft with lethal stealth capabilities, in the hangar.

"Impressive, isn't it, hedgehog?" He heard Snively's scratchy voice behind him. He turned around to see said villain standing just a few feet away with Gamma standing at his right.

The first thing the hedgehog noticed was Snively's attire.

"Where'd ya get your clothes, Snavely?" the hedgehog snickered, "From the short and ugly store?"

"Watch your mouth, hedgehog." the short man snarled.

"Where're Sal and the others?" Sonic demanded, seeing that his normal insults were getting him nowhere.

"My, my..." Snively responded, a twisted form of amusement entering his eyes, "Aren't we impatient today? And I was so hoping I could introduce you to a friend of mine..."

As Snively spoke, a sillhouetted figure appeared in the shadows behind him.

"Bunnie?" the hedgehog asked, not sure if the shadows were playng a trick on him, "I thought you were dead."

"I never said she was dead." Snively replied, "However, she's not the same person that you knew."

Sonic's eyed bulged with surprise as the rabbit stepped into the light: Bunnie was completely roboticized! He couldn't see a single scrap of fur, only dull grey metal.

Sonic turned to Snively, his face a mixture of horror and rage, "You roboticized her?"

"I prefer to think that I brought out her full potential." Snively replied. He turned towards Bunnie.

"Kill him."

Sonic ran.

* * *

><p>1815 Hours, Robotropolis, En-Route to Snively's Headquarters<p>

Sally streaked through the smog-polluted sky of Robotropolis, her now-blazing crimson hair flowing behind her.

Behind her, Dulcy struggled to keep up with Charles and Rotor in tow. All three were silent, still puzzling over their friend's transformation.

"So... anyone else here wondering how Sally suddenly turned pink and started flying?" Dulcy spoke up, "And how she was able to get us out of there?"

"I don't know, Dulcy." Rotor responded, rubbing his chin in thought, "It's the first time I've seen her do something like that."

"I think I might know." Chuck interrupted, snapping his fingers, "This might sound crazy, but Sally somehow absorbed the Positive Energy of the Deep Power Stones."

"What?" Dulcy replied in confusion.

"It sounds weird, I know." Chuck responded, "But here's my theory: When Sonic and Sally connected the stones, they not only unleashed their power but they somehow absorbed it."

"Well, if that's true, then why didn't the abilities manifest earlier?" Rotor asked.

"That I don't know." Chuck shrugged, "But back to the matter at hand, we need to find the others."

"What about the Roboticizer?" Dulcy asked, "You're still a robot, Chuck."

"We can try to go back once we catch up to the others, but I don't think we'll have that opportunity." Chuck replied solemnly, sighing a bit, "Snively should already know we escaped, so chances are we don't have long until we have Patrol-Bot's on our tails."

"Uh, Uncle Chuck?" Dulcy interrupted, with a hint of nervousness in her voice, "Whatever you do, DON'T look down."

Chuck sighed, "Let me guess..."

Laser blasts from below seized their attention. They looked down and saw about 50 SWAT-Bot's waiting on the ground. Each one had their weapon activated and pointed directly at them.

"Great, a SWAT-Bot welcoming committee." Rotor groaned.

"Dulcy!" Chuck shouted.

"I'm way ahead of ya." Dulcy responded, "We're goin' down!"

The dragon dove down from the sky towards the SWAT-Bot armada. Just before crashing, she straightened her flight path. She unleashed a jet of red-hot flames from her mouth, scorching the SWAT-Bot's in her path. Dulcy quickly inhaled and shot a stream of condensed cold air, freezing the remaining SWAT-Bot's.

"Dulcy, let's land for a second." Chuck ordered, "I've got an idea."

"Hold onto your hats!" Dulcy said, "This'll be a rough landing!"

One crash-landing later, Chuck and Rotor slid off of the dazed Dulcy's saddle.

"Quick, Rotor!" Chuck commanded, "Grab their arm blasters! That should give us the upper hand!"

Chuck and Rotor grabbed two SWAT-Bot arms from the elbow to the hand that were a little singed, but none the worse for wear.

"Are you sure this will work, Uncle Chuck?" Rotor asked as he slid the metal glove over his flabby arm.

"The operation of this weapon should be pretty simple," Chuck noted, "Besides, I think it's time the 'Bots got a taste of their own firepower."

"If you say so," Rotor shrugged, "Let's get back up in the air."

After helping Dulcy get back up, they quickly found themselves back up in the air. They had barely been flying for about five minutes when they heard sirens behind them.

"Patrol Bot's." Rotor muttered.

Chuck nodded.

"Dulcy, keep us steady." The hedgehog ordered, turning around to face the group of about 30 hovercraft behind them, "It's time to give our new weapons a test drive."

Chuck lifted his hand level with his shoulder and quickly clenched it into a fist. In response, the laser on the arm quickly flared with a red light and shot a beam of concentrated energy. This beam hit one of the robots and sent it plummeting to the ground in a cloud of fire.

The Patrol-Bot's returned fire. Chuck and Rotor did likewise, and managed to send about 11 of the robots to a fiery grave.

"This is way too easy!" Rotor gloated as he sent another Patrol-Bot spiraling to its destruction.

"Don't get too cocky, Rotor!" Chuck admonished, pointing further behind the Patrol-Bot's, "We've got bigger problems!"

Suddenly, the group of Patrol-Bot's parted straight down the middle. Two identical mechanical creations flew straight through the group and towards the dragon.

"Delta and Epsilon!" Rotor shouted.

"I hate these guys!" Dulcy growled.

The E-100's quickly fired three simultaneous blasts from their blasters. Dulcy dove downwards, then upwards, then sideways, in any direction to escape from the drones pursuing her.

Then, just when the drones were about to capture them, they broke off their pursuit and retreated.

"Uncle Chuck, they're running away!" Dulcy exclaimed excitedly.

"Something's not right." Chuck mused, "They broke off their attack too quickly."

"Could Snively have something else planned?" Rotor asked.

"I wouldn't put that past him."

"Uh... Uncle Chuck?" Dulcy piped up, pointing at something ahead of them, "You might wanna see this."

Rotor and Chuck turned to where Dulcy was indicating and saw a sight that sent shivers running down their spines.

A massive SWAT-Bot about as tall as Snively's headquarters was standing in the middle of the city. Its frame bristled with multiple weapons, all of which were pointed right at them.

"This... could be a problem..." Chuck remarked.

* * *

><p>1820 Hours, Robotropolis<p>

Sonic ran through the streets of Robotropolis, hoping to put as much distance between himself and Bunnie.

_'I've gotta get outta here and meet up with the others!'_

Suddenly, as he was passing an alley, a grey blur leapt out and tackled him. The hedgehog slid across the ground and slammed into a pile of garbage.

Sonic rubbed the back of his head, "Man, way past uncool. What the heck was that?" he pondered as he stood up, wincing from the pain.

Then, he noticed a silver-grey sphere about a foot high zooming towards him. Multiple panels on the sphere retracted, metallic panels and circuitry within the sphere flipped, turned and snapped into place to form the roboticized Bunnie. She lunged straight at him, her fists clenched.

Sonic somersaulted away from Bunnie. The rabbit followed with a right uppercut which the hedgehog dodged. Sonic kept using his speed to avoid the robotic rabbit's attacks. However, he realized after a quick glance over his shoulder that he was slowly being backed into a dead-end.

The hedgehog leapt backwards and propelled himself off the wall clear over Bunnie's head, hoping to land behind her and escape. As the hedgehog flew above the rabbit, Bunnie extended her arm up, seized Sonic's right wrist and slammed him to the ground.

For a few seconds, Sonic lay still on the ground, unconscious. Then he groaned; his eyes slowly cracked open and he struggled to push himself up. He gasped as he felt something cold and metallic squeeze around his neck and pull him up. He found himself staring into the inky blackness of Bunnie's visor.

He tried prying off the rabbit's hands from around his neck to no avail. His right arm had broken when he hit the ground, leaving only his left arm mobile enough to try to loosen her grip. He could feel Bunnie's grip tightening around his neck, slowly choking him to death. Her visor glowed a diamond red as it charged with energy.

"B-Bunnie... stop." he choked.

However, at that very moment, something neither Sonic or Bunnie expected happened. From out of the shadows, a black object streaked out and bounced off the back of Bunnie's helmet.

Sonic and Bunnie re-focused their attention to a young brown fox holding a hockey stick in his right hand and a hockey puck in his left hand. His eyes had a look that was a mixture of fear and determination.

"Stop it, Aunt Bunnie!" Tails shouted. He dropped the puck on the floor, and with an impressive swing, smacked it towards the rabbit.

The robian relaxed her grip on Sonic's neck, and turned her attention towards Tails. Her visor fired a beam that incinerated the puck in mid-flight. Tails charged Bunnie, leaped into the air and attempted to perform what he hoped looked like a decent flying side-kick. With lightning speed, the rabbit grabbed the fox's outstretched leg and threw him into the air.

Tails' world suddenly turned upside-down as he streaked up into the sky and then plummeted to the ground. He landed on his back, yelping in pain.

The young fox inclined his head and saw Bunnie approaching him. He tried to stand up, but she placed her foot on his chest to keep him on the ground. Her mechanical hands converted into two identical katana. She raised them in the air as she prepared to end Tails' life with one stroke.

As Sonic watched helplessly, he suddenly felt a newfound strength in his arms. He pushed himself up, ran faster then he could ever remember running, and tackled Bunnie to the ground.

The rabbit flung off the hedgehog and shifted into her sphere form.

She accelerated away, turned around and charged straight at Sonic. However, she hadn't noticed that his eyes had suddenly turned completely white and his teeth were ground together in pure rage. A black vapor slowly flowed out from his eyes and swallowed his entire body, covering his spiny blue quills.

As the rabbit charged, the hedgehog vanished. The sphere skidded to a stop and shifted back into its humanoid form.

*TARGET LOST... SEARCHING...*

As the rabbit scanned the surrounding area, the hedgehog suddenly appeared above her. She didn't realize it until he had her pinned to the ground with an iron grip she couldn't break.

Sonic clenched his fists and pummeled Bunnie's armor, which collapsed like paper under his strikes.

*WARNING... VITAL CIRCUITS COMPROMISED...* Bunnie's systems droned as sparks flew, *INITIATING SHUTDOWN RECOVERY SEQUENCE*

"SONIC!" Tails yelled, slowly standing up and stumbling forward, "STOP IT! YOU'RE GONNA KILL HER!"

Relaxing his fists, the black figure stood up and turned to Tails sharply. The fox nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Sonic's eyes were a deep, murderous blood red.

**"I am not Sonic."** He declared in a deep, menacing, otherworldly voice as white streaks snaked through his dark fur, **"I... AM... MEPHILES, AND I AM FREE!"**

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Ah, the ever glorious retcon...<p> 


	10. Shadow and Light

I am Shadow, I am Light

I am Wrong and I am Right

Sometimes shining, oh, so bright

Sometimes fading into night

Though You see this war in me

You know all that I can be

I am precious in Your sight

You walk with me through Shadow and Light

* * *

><p>1835 Hours, Robotropolis<p>

"Look out!"

Dulcy dove down to dodge another round of ammunition launched from the colossal SWAT-Bot's weapons. Chuck and Rotor clung to her saddle for dear life while simultaneously firing shots from their blasters at the giant automaton. Their shots bounced off of the automaton's armor like rubber balls on a concrete sidewalk.

"This isn't working!" Rotor shouted as Dulcy dodged another volley of missiles, "The armor's too thick for our blasters!"

"There has to be a weak spot!" Chuck yelled, tightening his grip on the harness, "But we can't get any closer!"

"Where's Sally?" Dulcy asked, knowing it wasn't exactly the right time for questions.

**_Right here!_**

A pink ribbon of light streaked towards the robotic titan and charged into its torso. The robot stumbled backwards, accidentally knocking down a building in the process. It regained its balance and tried to catch the pink streak zooming around it.

**_Rotor, Chuck!_** Sally's voice suddenly shouted in their heads.

"Sally? How are you...?"

**_That's not important now!_** Sally said as she rammed the colossus from behind,**_ I'll keep this thing distracted while you look for a weak spot!_**

"How?" Dulcy asked, looking up and down the titan robot's frame, "That thing's huge!"

**_I can see some exposed spots on the armor, Dulcy._** Sally said, destroying a volley of missiles with a beam of pink energy, _**I can send the images to you mentally and you can use your flames to wear them down!**_

"Got it!" The dragon flew towards the gigantic machine. The image of an exposed socket connecting the right leg to the SWAT-Bot's torso appeared in her mind.

"Uncle Chuck, Rotor, you got it?"

"We have the image, Dulcy!" Chuck confirmed, "Let's take care of this thing!"

As the dragon and her passengers charged, the SWAT-Bot turned its visor in their direction.

*DEPLOYING STEALTH-BOT'S*

The Stealth-Bot's mounted on its frame dislodged and flew straight at them.

"Uncle Chuck, Stealth-Bot's at four o'clock!" Rotor shouted.

"Hang on," Chuck replied, taking out a oblong oval-shaped projectile from his backpack and inserting it into his the nozzle of his blaster.

"Hasta la vista, 'bot's!"

He fired the projectile. It sailed in a long arc through the air until it exploded, sending out an electrical shockwave. The Stealth-Bot's circuits were fried by this sudden jolt and dropped from the sky.

"EMP grenade!" was Chuck's response to Rotor's confused expression, "It's a prototype immobilization device I was working on during the War. Dulcy, fly in and let's finish this!"

Dulcy soared towards the titan's weak spot, flames building in her mouth. The robot's head turned to face them.

*WARNING...* It droned, raising its right hand to defend itself, *INCOMING ATTACK. INITIATING DEFENSIVE MEASURES*

Dulcy unleashed her attack, burning through the thin metal plating shielding the joint connecting the SWAT-Bot's leg to its torso. The heat of the flames melted the ball-joint almost immediately, cleaving the limb cleanly from the robot's hip. It fell to the ground with a booming crash. With no firm foundation underneath it, the colossal SWAT-Bot fell on its back, creating a deep crater.

"Whoo-Hoo!" Dulcy cheered as Sally flew up to meet them, "That was awesome!"

A thoughtful expression suddenly passed over Chuck's face. He scrunched his eyebrows together in thought, "Hmm..."

**_Is something wrong, Sir Charles?_**

"This was a distraction." Chuck said, "The robot wasn't even properly assembled. That's why we were able to defeat it so easily. Snively wanted to divert our attention away from Sonic."

**_Why would he... Oh no!_**

"What is it, Sally?"

**_It's Tails! He's being attacked by... Sonic!_**

"What?"

"Sally, do you see where he is?" Chuck asked urgently.

**_I can sense his location!_**

"Then lead the way!"

* * *

><p>1845 Hours, Robotropolis, Outskirts of City<p>

"Sonic!" Tails shouted, "Stop!"

**"Sonic can't hear you anymore!"** The menacing black figure roared, holding his palms in front of him. A beam of dark energy shot out from his hands and raced towards the young fox.

Tails froze as the attack rushed forward to destroy him. He felt utterly terrified.

Suddenly, a pink streak plummeted to the ground and deflected the beam back at Mephiles.

Shaking with fright, Tails opened his eyes and saw Sally standing with her back facing him. Her right hand was held up level with her shoulder, her fingers flexed slightly. Her hair was now literally on fire.

"Aunt Sally?"

**_Tails, are you all right?_** Sally asked without turning around.

"Y-yeah..." Tails replied shakily, "H-how are you...?"

**"Ah,"** The dark figure spoke, diverting Sally's attention away from Tails, **"I wondered where you were."**

**_Leave Tails alone, Mephiles._** Sally replied, narrowing her eyes into angry slits, **_Your battle is with me._**

**"Very well, then."** Mephiles responded, flexing his fingers, **"You should provide more of a challenge."**

**_Tails._** Sally spoke, taking NICOLE off of her boot and tossing it to him, **_Take Nicole. You'll need her for the Roboticizer._**

"O-okay." Tails spoke shakily, slightly fumbling the portable computer in his hands as he caught it.

Both Sally and Sonic flew up into the sky and disappeared into the smoke that choked the skyline above them.

"Tails!"

Tails looked up and saw Dulcy streaking down towards him.

"INCOMING!" The dragon shouted as she crash-landed in a less-than-glorious fashion.

Rotor and Chuck both leaped off of the dragon's saddle and ran towards Tails.

"Are you all right, Tails?" Rotor asked.

"I'm okay," the shaking fox said, "but what's happened to Aunt Sally?"

"We'll explain later!" Chuck responded, turning around to Dulcy, "Right now, we have to get out of here!"

"Wait!" Tails shouted, running towards Bunnie, "We have to get Aunt Bunnie!"

"Bunnie's alive?" All three Freedom Fighters exclaimed in unison, complete surprise passing over their faces.

"She was roboticized!" Tails explained, trying to lift Bunnie, with no success.

Chuck and Rotor helped Tails turn the metallic rabbit over.

"Wow..." Rotor breathed as he examined Bunnie's armor, now fully repaired and not sporting any of the damage from earlier, "This is more advanced then your metal plating, Uncle Chuck."

"Snively certainly has been busy." Chuck noted, removing the back panel of Bunnie's helmet.

"Can I help?" Tails asked with a pleading look in his eyes, "I'll be careful!"

"Well... all right, but don't touch anything." Chuck relented.

"Cool!" the young fox shouted, pumping his fist in the air.

Chuck began probing through the rabbit's mechanical brain, muttering, "Where is it? Where is it?"

"Where's what, Uncle Chuck?" Tails asked.

"I'm looking for a data port." Chuck explained, "It's where a Robian's mind-control programming is imported after their robotization."

"What's it look like?"

"It looks like a small rectangle."

"Like this?" Tails asked, pointing to a small, rectangular hole near the lower part of Bunnie's brain.

"Oh... yes, that's it." Chuck responded, surprised that the young fox had found it much quicker then he had.

"What now?" Rotor asked, "We don't have any way to free her from Snively's control."

"Actually," Chuck replied, opening a compartment in the lower part of his left arm and taking out a small flash-drive, "With the unlimited computer access I had when working undercover as a tech-bot, I copied the free-will algorithms in my brain and convert them into a program that overrides the Roboticizer control code and frees the Robian's mind. I haven't tried it out yet, but it looks like now would be a good opportunity for a test run."

"Let's give it a shot!" Rotor said.

Chuck held the drive out to Tails, "Here, Tails. You found the port."

"Awesome!"

Tails climbed up on Bunnie's back and inserted the drive into the data port. He slid down and waited.

*ERROR...* A monotone robotic voice emanated from Bunnie's body, *FOREIGN SIGNAL DETECTED... CLASSIFICATION: EXTERNAL VIRUS... ATTEMPTING SYSTEM PURGE...*

"So, even if this works," Rotor said while the program did its work, "She'll still be roboticized."

"Yes." Chuck held his chin thoughtfully, "I hate to say it, but we have to go back to the Roboticizer chamber."

"Wouldn't Snively have left some SWAT-Bot's to guard it?" Rotor asked, "How will we get past them?"

"Let's just take one problem at a time, Rotor." Chuck said, "But for now, we'll have to wait until Bunnie wakes up."

Suddenly, a distorted robotic voice began rambling various languages, words, numbers and highly complex equations and formulas at an impossibly fast speed.

*RE-PROGRAMMING COMPLETE* The voice droned, *INITIATING SYSTEM RE-BOOT*

Chuck removed the flash drive and placed the panel back on Bunnie's head as her right hand suddenly clenched and relaxed. Her visor flashed a bright red, and then she slowly pushed herself up. She shook her head and pressed the palm of her hand against where she thought her forehead was.

*OWW...* Bunnie groaned, stopping when she heard the sound of her voice. The metallic sound was... unsettling.

"Bunnie, can you stand up?" Charles asked.

*AH... AH THINK SO...* she replied, standing up with Rotor's support, *W-WHAT HAPPENED?*

"You don't remember?"

*AHH... NOT REALLY* Bunnie shrugged, *IT'S ALL A BIG BLUR... THE LAST THING AH REMEMBER WAS SNIVELY PUTTIN' ME IN THA ROBOTICIZER AND THEN... OH MAH STARS! AH... AH...*

The rabbit stumbled backwards a few steps and then fell forward to the floor.

*AH... AH ALMOST KILLED...*

"Bunnie, what are you talking about?" Chuck asked, a look of concern passing over his face.

"She almost killed Sonic." Tails said slowly.

"What?" All three Freedom Fighters gasped in unison.

"But it's not her fault!" The fox replied defensively, "She attacked Sonic and she was about to kill him. I distracted her, but then Sonic tried to save me."

"And what happened to Sonic?"

"He... Something happened to him." Tails explained, still trying to make sense of what he had seen, "Sonic got really angry, and then... It looked like he just snapped. He turned black and fired some sort of energy beam at me."

Rotor and Chuck turned to each other, with the same shocked expressions on their faces.

"You don't think..."

"It's the only possible explanation." Chuck said, "What happened next, Tails?"

"Aunt Sally saved me. Then she gave me NICOLE and took off to fight Sonic." Tails replied, "Then you showed up."

"I guess it's decided, then." Rotor shrugged.

*WHAT'S DECIDED?* Bunnie asked.

"We're heading to the Roboticizer." Chuck announced, "But we'll have to hoof it. We can't go by air."

"That's fine by me..." Dulcy said relievedly, "I've had enough crash landings for one day."

"What about you, Bunnie?" Rotor asked, "Are you ready?"

Bunnie was silent for a few seconds, then she looked at the others.

*LET'S GO. IT'S ABOUT TIME AH GOT MAH OLD BOD' BACK*

"Right." Chuck replied, "Tails, could you give me NICOLE?"

The fox gave the robotic hedgehog the handheld computer. Chuck flipped it open.

"NICOLE, guide us to the Roboticizer."

*LOCATING ROBOTICIZER ENERGY SIGNAL-TRIANGULATING COORDINATES-CALCULATING ROUTE*

A green holographic arrow pointing to the south appeared above NICOLE.

"C'mon, Freedom Fighters!" Chuck urged in a surprisingly enthusiastic voice for someone of his age, "Let's get to the Roboticizer!"

The dragon, fox, walrus and robotic rabbit all followed behind the elderly hedgehog.

*HEY, TAILS?*

"Yes, Aunt Bunnie?"

Bunnie knelt down and swept up the fox in a thankful hug, *THANKS FOR EXPLAININ' EVERYTHIN' TA CHUCK AND ROTOR*

"You're welcome." Tails replied, a little surprised that he was giving Bunnie moral support, "You looked so overwhelmed, I had to do something. Do you feel better now?"

*A LOT BETTA, SUGAH* Bunnie replied, standing back up, *NOW LET'S GET TA THE ROBOTICIZER!*

* * *

><p>1852 Hours, Skies of Robotropolis<p>

Mephiles and Sally flew up into the sky, trailing ribbons of light parallel to one another.

**"After all these years I finally have the pleasure of eliminating you."** Mephiles declared, **"And this time, there aren't any echidna's to help you!"**

**_Release the hedgehog, Mephiles! He's of no use to you!_**

**"Don't try to manipulate me."** The demon scoffed, whisps of white smoke drifting off of his body, "**I have a body again, and through it I can use my true power!"**

**_I do not wish to fight you, but if you won't release Sonic, you leave me no choice._**

Sally sped towards the dark hedgehog.

Mephiles flexed his hands and charged.

Sally and Mephiles collided with such force that they created a small shockwave that shook the air around them. They engaged in extremely fast hand-to-hand combat.

**"Why are you so eager to drive me out of this body?"** Mephiles responded after deflecting a number of the princess' attacks.

**_You would never understand._** Sally replied, blocking one of Mephile's strikes.

Mephiles' twisted mind instantly put two-and-two together, **"Oh, but I do understand."** he replied in a condescending tone, **"And I thought your affection for the creatures of this world was pathetic."**

**_It is a feeling that you have forgotten the true value of!_**

**"What need have I of it? I am the incarnation of pure hatred and rage, my power comes through the negative emotions of others! There is no power in friendship!"**

**_You are still a fool, Mephiles! It is because of that bond you were defeated, and why you shall always be defeated!_**

With several swift movements of her hands, Sally jabbed into Mephiles' pressure points and then blasted the hedgehog with a powerful energy blast. The dark hedgehog impacted on the ground far below.

However, the crash, along with Sally's jabs, did not even slow the hedgehog down. He quickly stood back up and countered Sally's attack with his own energy beam.

Sally quickly created a barrier that deflected the energy attack back at Mephiles. The hedgehog dodged the attack and flew up into the sky.

**"You certainly have grown stronger since our last battle."** the hedgehog responded, **"But I sense that you are holding back. Are you afraid of hurting the hedgehog's body?"**

**_Don't underestimate me, Mephiles!_** Sally said, clenching her fists, **_You have no idea how powerful I am._**

Sally stretched out her arms. Majestic pink wings stretched out, and the pink border around her figure expanded into the form of a phoenix. Long, flowing tails sailed gloriously behind her.

The phoenix fired extremely hot flames down at the hedgehog. Mephiles simply floated away from the flames.

**"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"** He cackled, **"You have shown me your true form, now let me show you mine!"**

Mephiles slowly began growing in size. His arms slowly grew longer and sprouted flaps of skin, while his hands grew claws and scales. His tail grew longer and sprouted spikes. His feet grew larger, scaly and clawed. Finally, the dark hedgehog's neck grew in length and his face morphed, becoming more reptilian, scaly and savage.

With a fierce angelic cry, Sally folded her wings and charged down towards the dark figure waiting to engage her.

The dragon roared its challenging bellow. With a flap of its wings, it flew up to meet the phoenix, eager to finish the matter it had started.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: So, for an accurate mental image, Sally's Phoenix form is similar to the Gaia Phoenix from Sonic Unleashed. As for Mephiles' Dragon form, think Smaug from The Hobbit movies mixed with the Iblis fire dragon-things from Sonic 06.<p> 


	11. Clash of the Titans

1900 Hours, Robotropolis, Roboticizer Chamber

Two SWAT-Bot's stood guard outside of the Roboticizer facility. They were under strict orders from Snively to not let anyone or anything into the building.

A rustling sound from around the corner caught the attention of both robots. They activated their laser blasters as a metallic sphere sped around the corner and accelerated towards them.

The sphere raced up a piece of metal jutting up from the ground and flew into the air. In mid-air, the sphere's armor retracted, flipped around and snapped together to form a roboticized anthropomorphic rabbit.

Bunnie landed on the ground, shot her arm forward and punched a hole straight through the SWAT-Bot on the left. She retracted her arm, converted her fingers into claws and sliced the other SWAT-Bot's upper half from its other half. As the SWAT-Bot's dropped to the ground, Bunnie turned to the corner behind her.

*COAST IS CLEAR, Y'ALL!*

Rotor, Chuck, Tails and Dulcy warily glanced around the corner before joining their friend.

"Well, that was easy." Rotor commented, observing the offline SWAT-Bot's.

"It can't be this easy." Chuck muttered, "Snively had to know that if we escaped we'd try and come back here."

*AND HE'S PROBABLY GOT A WHOLE LOT MORE 'BOT'S WAITIN' INSIDE FOR US.*

"I can melt the door down!" Dulcy suggested.

"I don't think that would be a good idea, Dulcy." Chuck replied, "The SWAT-Bot's would tear us to shreds once the door was down. We'd need something that could distract them while... Bunnie, what are you doing?"

Bunnie was walking towards the door, her visor glowing a deep red. A crimson beam shot forward from her visor, obliterating the door. Instantly, SWAT-Bot lasers fired through the smoke. As Bunnie ran into the building, the rest of the group dove to the ground for cover.

Bunnie charged towards the armada of SWAT-Bot's waiting inside. She jumped up into the air and converted her hands into identical katanas. She landed on top of one and sliced its head off. She stabbed another SWAT-Bot straight through its visor and sliced two more straight down the middle.

She retracted her katanas and formed two identical spinning saws on her wrists. At the same time, the metallic soles of her feet retracted to reveal hidden rocket boosters. They propelled her forward towards the SWAT-Bot's.

Her saws made quick work of the machines, leaving only five left. She retracted the saw on her left wrist and replaced it with a circular shield. She flew at them, stunning them with a hard shield hit to the processor before finishing them off with her saw. The pieces of the machines fell to the floor.

She deactivated her weapons and reverted her limbs to their normal appearance. At the same time, Chuck, Rotor, Tails and Dulcy walked into the control room, observing the remains of what were once SWAT-Bot's scattered across the floor.

"Wow..." Rotor whistled, impressed by the rabbit's strength, "You got that new armor under control pretty quickly, Bunnie."

Bunnie awkwardly scratched the back of her helmet, *WELL, AH ALWAYS HAVE BEEN A FAST LEARNER*

"Come on," Chuck commanded, walking over to the Roboticizer control panel, "Let's get started."

"So, why are we using the computer?" Rotor asked, "Couldn't we just re-wire it?"

"We could, but then we'd risk frying some vital circuits." Chuck explained, "Besides, we're in a bit of a rush. Re-programming the machine should be easier."

Chuck plugged the portable computer into a data port on the panel.

"NICOLE, begin Roboticizer control interface."

*INITIATING... INTERFACING WITH ROBOTICIZER CONTROLS... INTERFACE COMPLETE*

"NICOLE," Chuck commanded, "Override the emergency firewalls and access the main functions of the Roboticizer."

*OVERRIDING... OVERRIDE COMPLETE. ACCESSING ROBOTICIZER FUNCTIONS...*

A screen flashed on, displaying the different functions of the Roboticizer. Chuck began typing in a series of commands, accessing systems of the Roboticizer so complex that even Robotnik himself would have had a hard time understanding what their purpose was.

A few minutes later, Chuck returned to the Roboticizer's main functions and activated the machine. Instead of glowing green, the laser glowed with a yellow aura similar to the glow of the power rings.

"So..." Rotor spoke up, "What's next?"

"We need to test it before we program it to send out the de-robotization waves." Chuck explained, turning towards Bunnie, "Would you like to go first, Bunnie?"

*ARE YA SURE, UNCLE CHUCK?* Bunnie asked, unable to hide the surprise in her voice, *AH MEAN, YOU'VE BEEN ROBOTICIZED LONGER THEN AH HAVE.*

"I can wait a little longer." The elderly hedgehog replied with a kind smile, "You better get in there."

Signalling to Rotor, Chuck watched as the glass cover of the Roboticizer slid up and Bunnie walked directly under it. As soon as it slid down, Chuck turned to the control panel.

"NICOLE, activate the De-Roboticizer!"

*ACTIVATING...*

A golden beam fired down on Bunnie, immersing her entire body in a golden-yellow light.

*DE-ROBITIZATION PROCESS INITIATED. 1.9% COMPLETE*

"This will take a while." Chuck said, "The process for De-Robotization requires more energy then robotization."

Suddenly, a low mechanical growling sound outside cut off the hedgehog's explanation. The growl was followed by metallic feet pounding against the floor. A bright red light floating above the ground in the darkness swiftly approached them.

"Something's coming!" Dulcy shouted, spreading out her wings and stepping into a defensive stance.

Chuck pried a piece of metal from the wall and formed it into a makeshift spear as a mechanical animal charged into the room. Its sharp claws were dug into the floor and its tail was pointed in high alert. The Robian's optics flared with a red light as it scanned the intruders in the room and emitted a low growl.

Tails and Chuck recognized it almost immediately. Chuck because he had known him for years, Tails because he had seen him before on a previous mission.

"Muttsky!"

* * *

><p>1910 Hours, Skies of Robotropolis<p>

Mephiles and Sally battled high in the sky, shaking the very air around them with their strikes.

Folding her wings, Sally dove to meet Mephiles in a head-on attack. She slashed at the dragon with her claws, scarring its chest.

The dragon responded by swinging its large tail out at the phoenix.

A barrier of fire flared up around Sally, shielding her from the dragon's strike. She fired multiple razor-sharp projectiles from her beak, scratching even deeper wounds across its body. Fire erupted from the phoenix's mouth, scorching the dragon's skin and sending him plummeting to the ground.

Sally dove down towards Mephiles. Suddenly, the dragon emitted a shockwave, repelling Sally. At the same time, the scars and wounds the dragon had sustained during their battle instantly healed and disappeared.

As it stood back up, Sally spewed flames from her mouth. A shield of white flames flashed up around Mephiles, deflecting the flames around it.

The dragon responded by belching dark flames at the phoenix. Sally barely dodged the attack in time, flying up into the sky. Mephiles flapped his wings and flew after the phoenix. Sally turned around and crossed her wings in an 'X' formation. Several tail feathers launched off of her body and rocketed towards the dragon. Mephiles dodged the attack with ease and sped even faster at the phoenix.

He caught up with Sally sooner than she expected. He bashed Sally about in the air with his claws and fired white flames from his mouth. Already shaken up by the dragon's strikes, Sally was then bombarded by yet another wall of white flames.

The Princess righted herself quickly and flew back up at the dragon. Both beings collided with such power that the buildings in their general proximity collapsed. Sally jabbed at the dragon's body with her sharp beak, while Mephiles did likewise with his teeth. The phoenix then broke away from the dragon and charged straight into the dragon's back, sending them both plummeting towards the earth.

When the smoke from the crash cleared, Sally charged. She clashed her claws against the dragon's, and both breathed extremely hot flames towards each other. However, Sally's fatigue eventually got the better of her, and she found herself lying on the floor with the dragon's flames beating against her. Her phoenix form evaporated as she lay on the ground, exhausted and battered.

Mephiles descended from the air, reverting back into his hedgehog form. As he approached Sally, several tentacles emerged from his back and slowly slithered through the air towards her.

He could have simply incinerated her with a mere wave of his hand, but since she was his mortal enemy, he wanted to see her suffer before she was killed.

Sally suddenly found herself bound by Mephiles' tentacles and lifted up into the air. She cried out in pain as the hedgehog tightened the iron grip of his coils on her body.

Mephiles slammed her repeatedly against the floor and the wall, battering her even further. He released her from his grip, throwing her high into the sky and sending her plummeting to the ground.

Sally groaned in pain as she hit the ground, daring not to move and harm herself further. She was covered in bruises, she had sprained a few bones, and she hurt all over.

Mephiles approached her again, forming a spear in his hands.

**"The only reason you were able to defeat me was your collaboration with those pathetic lifeforms."** He said, aiming his spear at Sally's head, **"You could never defeat me by yourself, and you never will!"**

For a few moments, the hedgehog held the spear in the air, savoring the moment he had anticipated for countless years.

**"Say goodbye, Iblis."**


	12. Victory

1910 Hours, Roboticizer Facility

Muttsky charged towards Dulcy, a savage growl tearing out of his throat. Dulcy spewed out red hot flames at the robotic mutt. Muttsky dodged the fire and circled around the dragon, making a beeline for the Roboticizer controls.

"He's heading for the computer, Rotor!" Tails shouted.

"Can you hold him off, Uncle Chuck?"

"Just watch the controls!" Chuck responded.

Chuck brandished his makeshift spear and knocked Muttsky to the side as it leapt for the controls. The mutt quickly recovered and both it and Chuck began stalking each other in a circular motion, staring each other down. To Tails, it seemed as if both Chuck and Muttsky were goading each other to attack.

Muttsky charged, growling murderously. Chuck spun his spear in his hands and stepped back with his right foot.

"MUTTSKY!" He shouted, his eyes suddenly becoming harsh and commanding, "Heel, boy!"

Suddenly, Muttsky skidded to a stop. The glare of its optics became less harsh and threatening momentarily. For a few moments, it pawed at its face, whining with an electronic voice.

"Come on, Muttsky!" Chuck commanded, "I know you can fight this!"

The robotic dog shook its head wildly and then growled savagely. Chuck held his spear in a defensive stance and glanced back at the De-Roboticizer.

"Rotor!" He shouted, keeping an eye on Muttsky, "What's the status on the De-Robotization process?"

"50 percent complete, Uncle Chuck!" Rotor replied.

"50 percent?!" Chuck shouted as the mechanical dog charged.

This time, Muttsky knocked the hedgehog to the floor and snapped at his face. Using all his strength, Chuck managed to hold the mutt back with his spear. However, he could feel the Robian's strength slowly overpowering him.

Thinking quickly, he bent his legs and pushed into Muttsky's stomach with his feet. The dog went flying head-over-heels in the air... straight for the De-Roboticizer controls.

"ROTOR!" Chuck shouted, "LOOK OUT!"

"Whoa!" the walrus exclaimed, ducking as the mechanical dog collided with the control panel. Several sparking wires shot out and shocked Muttsky. It howled in pain as the electricity coursed through its circuits.

At the same time, an electrical current ran along the conduit to the De-Roboticizer. The electricity coursed through the glass chamber and the data port where NICOLE was still plugged in.

"NO!" Chuck shouted, running to the controls as they continued sparking, "The process isn't complete yet!"

Suddenly, Bunnie and another voice screamed and then were silent.

*DE-ROBOTIZATION PROCESS COMPLETED*

The glass cover of the machine slid up. Smoke poured out of the machine as Bunnie's silhouette stumbled out and she fell forward to the ground. She was concealed by the cloud of smoke that spilled out of the Roboticizer capsule.

"Aunt Bunnie?" Tails, approaching her slowly, asked, "Are you... all right?"

Bunnie slowly opened her eyes. She looked down at her hands and gasped. Her arms were completely restored! They weren't the grey metal she had become accustomed to over the years, they were real flesh-and-blood, warm, not cold to the touch. She raised both her arms and reflexively clenched her hands, unsure whether they were real or not.

"Ah don't believe it. A-Ah..." She stuttered, as joyful tears began running down her cheeks, "Ah'm... cured! Ah have mah old bod back!"

*WARNING...* The control panel droned, interrupting Bunnie's elation, *SYSTEM OVERLOAD IMMINENT. EVACUATE FACILITY IMMEDIATELY*

"Everyone out, now!" Chuck shouted, running to the controls. He yanked NICOLE out of the interface port, and slung Muttsky over his shoulder. Dulcy, Tails and Bunnie ran ahead of him and were already outside by the time the hedgehog ran out of the building.

"RUN!" He yelled, "It's going to explode!"

All five Freedom Fighters broke into a wild run around the corner away from the building. They continued running, trying to put as much distance between them and the facility.

The De-Roboticizer exploded. A shockwave rippled across the city, collapsing the surrounding buildings into piles of rubble.

Everyone was knocked to the ground by the shockwave. After it passed them, they stood up and dusted themselves off.

"That was close." Rotor remarked, a little shaken by the reverberations, "But at least we're still alive."

"But... The De-Roboticizer was destroyed." Tails replied, his face falling as he thought about Uncle Chuck and everyone else, "Everyone else is still roboticized."

"Don't worry, Tails!" Chuck said, surprising everyone with his enthusiasm, "We'll find a way, somehow."

Just then, Muttsky's paw twitched and his optics flared with a red light.

"Stand back!" Chuck commanded, dropping the mutt on the ground and stepping in front of the others, "Get ready to run if he attacks!"

The robotic mutt slowly pushed himself up until he sat on his hind legs. He scratched behind his ears and then looked at his surroundings. When the dog saw Chuck, he bounded towards him, knocking him to the ground and happily licking his face.

"Okay, okay, Muttsky!" Chuck laughed, "I'm glad to see you too, boy."

"Okay, that's weird." commented Tails, "How did that happen?"

"The shock from the Roboticizer controls must have erased the control code from his programming." Chuck theorized as he scratched Muttsky's head, "Now he's free of Snively's control."

The mutt's tail wagged happily. Granted, as a dog, he had no idea what the heck was going on, but he was happy to see his master again. He had been a longtime companion of Sonic's, but was the first of Robotnik's experiments in robotization.

The happy reunion was suddenly interrupted by a sudden tremor.

"EARTHQUAKE!" Dulcy squealed, diving to the floor and covering her head.

"That wasn't an earthquake." Chuck said, running in the direction he thought the shaking had come from, "Something hit the ground near here. Something BIG."

"What was it?" Rotor asked. He and the others broke into a dash to catch up with Chuck.

They ran around the corner and saw a sight that horrified them: A dark figure stood with his right foot firmly planted on Sally's back, with a spear aimed straight at her head.

"Aunt Sally!" Tails shouted.

"Sic 'em, Muttsky!" Chuck yelled.

The grey-and-blue robotic mutt charged Mephiles, knocking him to the ground. The hedgehog flung Muttsky head-over-heels behind him. While Mephiles was distracted, Dulcy flew up behind him, inhaled and froze the hedgehog in place.

With Chuck, Muttsky and Dulcy keeping Mephiles distracted, Tails, Bunnie and Rotor ran towards Sally, who was unconscious from her battle.

Rotor placed two fingers on Sally's neck, "She's alive!" he exclaimed, "Give me a hand, Bunnie!"

With Bunnie's help, Rotor propped Sally up against a piece of metal lying against a nearby wall. He shook Sally by her shoulders.

She groaned and her eyes slowly opened. Sally pressed her palm against her forehead, then focused her eyes, "Where's Sonic?"

Meanwhile, Dulcy, Chuck and Muttsky crowded around Mephiles, still frozen in the ice. He shattered his ice prison, and cast a murderous glance at the three.

**"Pathetic fools!"** Mephiles roared, his red eyes blazing, **"I shall not be denied my revenge!"**

"Dulcy, do you think you can whip up some cover?" Chuck asked.

"Say no more, Uncle Chuck!" The dragon replied. She burped. Smoke poured out of her ears and settled across the entire area.

Chuck and Muttsky adjusted their optics to see through the smoke. They charged towards Mephiles, who did not expect this sudden attack. Chuck slugged Mephiles in the stomach, and Muttsky rammed the dark hedgehog into a pile of garbage. Mephiles wildly fired multiple dark energy projectiles from his hands in an attempt to immobilize his foes.

Outside of the smoke cloud, the other Freedom Fighters listened to the fight inside.

"Sounds like they're holding up so far." Rotor said.

"They won't last." Sally replied, attempting to stand up, "I've got to get in there."

"Whoa, now, Sally-girl." Bunnie cautioned, firmly pushing her back down, "You shouldn't stand up. Looks like you took quite a beatin'."

"I just can't sit here!" Sally protested, "Chuck and Muttsky can keep Mephiles occupied for now, but it's only a matter of time!"

"Who?" a confused expression passed over Rotor's face.

"Mephiles." Sally replied, "The force that's possessed Sonic is named Mephiles."

"Even if Sonic has been possessed," Rotor replied, "You're in no shape to fight him now, Sally."

"Then what are we supposed to do?" Tails asked,

Rotor looked at the Freedom Fighters standing in front of him, then to the smoke cloud where Muttsky and Chuck were duking it out with the possessed hedgehog, then back to the others.

"I'll go in."

"No, Rotor, you can't!" Tails protested, "If Aunt Sally couldn't take him on, you don't stand a chance!"

"I've got a few tricks in my belt." Rotor replied, taking his blowtorch out from his belt, "Besides, I can't let Uncle Chuck have all the fun."

"Wait..." Sally stretched out her right arm towards the walrus, "You won't be able to defeat Mephiles with just a normal flame."

Wisps of orange energy flowed out from Sally's palm and were absorbed into Rotor's blowtorch.

"Uh... What was that?" Rotor asked, looking at his torch with a little hesitance.

"You'll see." Sally replied, "Now go help Sonic."

"Whoa, now." Bunnie spoke up, "Ah can't let ya go in by yo'self."

"Uh, no offense, Bunnie." Rotor replied, "But I don't think you'll be able to hold up without your armor."

"Ah'm still a Freedom Fighter, ain't I?" Bunnie asked, "Besides, Ah cain't stand on the sidelines while you put yo' lives on the line."

"Okay, then." Rotor shrugged, "Tails, if things get bad, take Sally and get out of here."

"Don't worry, sugah." Bunnie said to the fox, "We'll be back before ya know it!"

Tails swallowed nervously with a scared look in his eyes, but he nodded.

The walrus and rabbit ran into the smoke clouds. The only thing that flashed through their minds was a thought that they didn't want to think: They probably wouldn't survive this.

Chuck and Muttsky continued to bash Mephiles around while dodging his attacks. The hedgehog prepared to unleash an attack that would have deactivated them both.

Suddenly, Bunnie came flying through the smoke, attacking the hedgehog with a flying side-kick that knocked him off balance. Mephiles regained his balance and let loose an attack that the rabbit barely dodged.

"Get 'im, Rotor!"

The walrus flipped on his blowtorch and a flame much more vibrant and brilliant then an ordinary flame spewed out the tip.

"Whoa, nice!" Rotor grinned.

Rotor rushed towards the demon with his blowtorch turned on at full blast. He scorched Mephiles, leaving a jagged scar across his chest.

The hedgehog's eyes widened in shock and surprise, stumbling backwards a few steps, **"That's... not possible!"** he exclaimed, pressing his hand against the scar. Rotor took a closer look at the gaps between the hedgehog's fingers and saw Sonic's spiny blue quills.

"Dulcy, Uncle Chuck!" Rotor shouted, "It's weakness is extreme heat!"

Taking this cue, Dulcy fired flames out of her mouth at Mephiles. The inferno burned off large portions of the stain on the hedgehog's legs, arms and back.

Rotor charged Mephiles, meaning to drive the creature from Sonic's body.

"Here goes nothing!"

Suddenly, a dark shockwave rippled across the premises, repelling all of Mephiles' assailants and dispersing the smoke cloud. Dulcy crashed into a wall and was knocked unconscious.

**"ENOUGH!"** the demon roared.

His armor quickly regenerated and the vapor drifted off of his body twice as thick as before. Rotor rushed him with his blowtorch. Mephiles clenched his fist and the blowtorch dissolved in the walrus' hand.

Muttsky and Chuck charged. Mephiles sent a shockwave in their direction that knocked both of them backwards with Rotor.

With the hedgehog distracted, Bunnie rushed up behind the hedgehog and attacked with a jump front-kick to his back, knocking Mephiles to his knees. Bunnie then followed with a flying round kick. Suddenly, a dark hand flew out of the hedgehog's back, seized Bunnie and slammed her on the ground, knocking her unconscious.

Calmly, Mephiles stood back up and dusted off his shoulders.

**"Now, where was I?"** he mused, ignoring the unconscious forms of the others, **"Ah, yes!"**

The hedgehog slowly walked towards Sally. Tails jumped in front of her, holding his hockey stick up like a sword.

"Stay away from Aunt Sally!" he yelled, his eyes set and determined.

Mephiles stopped, observing the fox standing before him and chuckling at the pathetic sight, **"You really think you can stop me, little fox?"**

"Aunt Sally did her best to protect me, so I'll do the same for her!"

Sharply-tipped tentacles emerged from the hedgehog's back and slowly slithered towards the fox. Like Sally, he could have incinerated Tails with a mere thought, but he wanted to see his prey shiver in fear before he was killed.

**_NO!_**

Sally immediately flared up with a pink light so bright that Mephiles stumbled back, shielding his face with his hands.

Sally stood up, walking towards the demon step by step. Mephiles created a dark energy sphere in his hands and launched it at Sally. To his surprise, the ball ricocheted off her body and collided with the floor.

**"Impossible!"** He exclaimed as Sally came even closer.

_**You threatened my friends...** Sally spoke with rising anger, her eyes narrowing in angry slits,** tried to kill Tails... and possessed the one I love!**_

Mephiles lunged at Sally. Currents of energy flowed from Sally's arms and immersed the hedgehog, paralyzing him with the light. Sally placed the palm of her right hand on Sonic's chest and the palm of her left hand against his shoulder. She cast beams of pink light from her eyes into the hedgehog's.

Instantly, the city, their friends and all of the noise vanished. Sally was now in a plain white location; nothing could be seen.

However, she saw Sonic; he was ensnared by many black ropes similar to a fly caught in a spider's web. Only his head could be seen, and strands of the web were slowly closing in around it. Realizing she didn't have much time, Sally approached the web. Suddenly, several tentacles shot out of the wires and streaked towards her.

A pink barrier flared up around her, deflecting the tentacles.

The bright white setting suddenly turned pitch-black and cold as ice.

**"I know you're in here!"** Mephiles' voice bellowed all around her, **"You may have defeated me in the physical world, but in here, I am invincible!"**

Sonic disappeared from Sally's vision. Standing in his place was a black hedgehog with red streaks on his black quills and a wicked gleam in his eyes.

**"It's not a bad likeness,"** he commented, waving his fingers in the air, "**And it's a vast improvement, if you ask me."**

**_I didn't ask._**

**"We'll see how long your stubbornness will last when I'm done with you."** Mephiles said, wavy black lines appearing around where they were standing. They struck at Sally.

Sally managed to dodge around 2 to 3 tentacles, but was suddenly struck on all sides by the black cables, bound and held still.

_**Sonic!**_ She cried out, the black ropes coiling up around her in a cocoon-like shape, _**If you can hear me, help me!**_

**"The hedgehog cannot hear you!"** Mephiles gloated, tightening the grip of his coils.

**_Sonic..._ **Sally gasped, finding it harder and harder to concentrate as the cables tightened around her body, _**If you can hear me, I could really use your help right now!**_

**"Your pleading is futile."** The dark hedgehog scoffed, **"I already said it before, he cannot hear... WHAT?**"

This exclamation was triggered by a sudden shift in the dark horizon from a dark black to a deep blue.

"One thing you should know about me!" A voice they both recognized shouted, "I can be extremely stubborn!"

The webs restricting Sally suddenly collapsed and dissolved.

**"How many more annoyances must I deal with?!"** Mephiles growled, glancing wildly in every direction, **"Show yourself, hedgehog!"**

Suddenly, Sonic appeared next to Sally.

**_Sonic!_** Sally exclaimed in relief, _**You're okay!**_

"Thanks to you, Sal." Sonic smiled, taking ahold of her hand and pulling her up, "Now, let's take care of this guy and jam back home!"

Sally nodded as Sonic helped her stand back up. Mephiles turned back to face them, rage and wicked glee filling his eyes.

**"Very foolish, hedgehog!"** He bellowed, rushing towards them, **"I shall kill you both and then deal with your friends!"**

Sally and Sonic joined their hands together. A bright light shot out from them both and struck Mephiles, immobilizing him.

**"This... isn't... possible!"** Mephiles growled, struggling to move his limbs, **"Even if you defeat me, you cannot drive me from this body!"**

**_We'll take care of that later!_**

"In the mean time, why don't ya take a little time out?"

The princess and the hedgehog tightened their grip, creating a sphere of light to seal Mephiles inside.

**"This is not the end!"** Mephiles declared as he was sealed inside, **"I shall escape, and I will be avenged on you all!"**

Mephiles' face disappeared behind the ribbon of white light that encircled around his prison several times, creating a prison as thick and complex as the Mobian brain.

The demon's screams silenced, and in the same instant, Sally found herself standing in Robotropolis with Sonic lying on the ground in front of her.


	13. The Return

1910 Hours, Robotropolis

"Oww..." Chuck moaned, slowly sitting up. He felt something metallic bump against his hand. He turned and saw Muttsky rubbing his nose against his hand.

"Are you okay, Uncle Chuck?" he heard Tails' voice ask.

"I'm fine." He assured, scratching the mutt's head, "It's nothing a good night's sleep and my repair systems can't fix. Let's help the others."

One by one, the hedgehog, the fox and the dog brought each of their friends back to consciousness. Rotor was okay, despite sustaining some scrapes and bruises, and Dulcy was fine, although she had had a rather nasty crash against the wall.

When Chuck woke up Bunnie, she immediately sat up.

"Where's Sonic?!" She asked anxiously.

"Easy, Bunnie." Chuck cautioned, trying to keep Bunnie from sitting up, "It looks like you got hit hard."

"Ah'm fine, Charles." Bunnie replied, standing up and walking away.

Chuck looked at Bunnie for a few seconds, confused about her resiliency. He quickly shrugged it off; there would be time later to take a closer look. Right now, the important thing was looking for both Sonic and Sally.

As everyone searched, the cries of "Sonic!", "Sally!", "Sally-Girl!", and "Sugah-Hog!" were mixed in with Muttsky's barking and sniffing.

Suddenly, they heard Tails shout, "I found them!"

They all ran towards his voice. When they caught up with him behind a pile of machine parts, they gasped.

They saw Sally holding an unconscious Sonic in her arms. He moaned slightly.

"Sugah-hog..." Bunnie gasped, tears gathering in her eyes.

The hedgehog was covered in bruises, scrapes and scratches. One of his eyes was black and his right arm hung down unnaturally like a marionette's.

Chuck walked slowly towards Sally, his eyes not wanting to believe what he saw, "Is he..." He began, then stopped.

"No..." Sally said, "He's alive, but weak. We need to get him to Knothole, and fast."

"How?" asked Tails, "We don't have any way to get back."

Then, Bunnie heard a low humming noise that slowly grew louder. She and the others turned around and saw a yellow hovercraft descending from the cloudy sky. It landed and the door slid open.

Two figures stepped out: a brown moose and a figure concealed by the shadows.

"Griff!" Chuck exclaimed relievedly, "How'd you find us?"

"We traced your communicator signal through my hover sled." Griff explained, patting the side of his hovercraft affectionately, "It led us straight to you."

"Who's that?" Tails asked, pointing to the figure behind the moose.

"Oh, uh... this is..."

"My name is Knuckles." The dark figure interrupted, stepping out of the shadows, "I'm looking for Sonic."

"Whoa..." Rotor gasped, "You're an echidna!"

"Yes..." Knuckles replied, pausing awkwardly for a second or two.

"Wait..." Tails interrupted, "Do you know him, Griff?"

"Yes, but we can talk about it later." Griff said, gesturing towards his hovercraft, "We need to get back to Knothole before more of Snively's goons show up."

Everyone except Dulcy and Sally piled into the hovercraft. Sally turned and began walking away from the vehicle.

"Climb in, Aunt Sally!" Tails implored.

"No..." Sally replied, "There's something I have to take care of here, then I'll head back."

"Just be careful, Sally." Griff said. He powered up the hovercraft's engines and flew off into the sky with Dulcy following behind.

As the vehicle flew up into the sky, Bunnie looked out of the side window. A small tear trickled down her cheek.

"We won..."

* * *

><p>1920 Hours, Robotropolis, Snively's Headquarters, War Room<p>

"Now this is interesting." Snively commented, viewing the footage of the battle between Sally and Mephiles on several of his monitors.

After he had sent Bunnie after Sonic, he and Gamma had returned to the War Room and viewed the entire conflict through the city's surveillance orbs. He was especially intrigued by the hedgehog's transformation and his battle with the princess.

*SIR* Gamma interrupted, pointing to another monitor, *THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS HAVE BEEN LOCATED IN SECTOR 5, SECTION 9-BRAVO-3. SUPPOSED OBJECTIVE: ESCAPE FROM CITY. PERMISSION TO DEPLOY SHADOW-BOT'S?*

"Hmm..." Snively said, folding his hands together and closing his eyes, "Let them go... for now. They won't escape what's coming."

*ALERT* Gamma droned, *INCOMING REPORT FROM DELTA AND EPSILON: MAJORITY OF SWAT-BOT FORCES ELIMINATED. LARGE PORTIONS OF CITY DAMAGED. ROBOTICIZER DESTROYED*

"Blast it!" Snively shouted, and suddenly calming down, said "No matter. The Freedom Fighters have suffered a severe blow. They're likely to take time to rest and recuperate."

He leapt down from his chair.

"Follow me, Gamma." He ordered, heading towards the exit, "I'd like to introduce you to an old friend."

* * *

><p>1925 Hours, The Great Forest, Knothole<p>

Storm clouds billowed over the Great Forest, rumbling with thunder. All of the citizens of Knothole gathered around Griff's hovercraft as it landed. They gasped when Chuck and Rotor came out of the hovercraft holding the unconscious Sonic on a stretcher.

"What happened?" was the main question of a lot of Mobians while another was, "Who did this?"

"Should we tell them what happened, Uncle Chuck?" Rotor asked, shifting the weight of the stretcher on his shoulder.

"Not now, Rotor." Chuck replied, "The last thing we want is a mass panic."

Chuck and Rotor carried the stretcher over the bridge into Knothole while everyone else followed behind them.

As they entered the village, a gloom settled over everyone. Before, there had always been a grand celebration whenever they had returned from a mission with a hopeful look to the next day. Now nobody seemed to be in the mood for celebrating.

Sonic was their role model: a hero with an unwavering spirit and wit to match Robotnik's wrath. To see him laid low brought down everyone's spirits.

Tails, Griff and Knuckles followed behind the procession. On the way back, the others had told Knuckles and Griff what had happened and about Uncle Chuck's involvement in creating the E-100's. While Griff seemed to have trouble processing the information, Knuckles was surprisingly receptive of their accounts.

The young fox looked up at the echidna.

"I-Is Sonic going to be okay?" he asked.

"He will be." Griff replied, "He's too stubborn to give up."

"And he's our last hope for stemming the tide of war." Knuckles said.

"What?"

"Knuckles." Griff whispered, "Now's not the right time to talk about that."

"Sorry." Knuckles kneeled down in front of Tails, "Tails, why don't you go see if you can help Sir Charles?"

"Okay."

As Tails flew after the others, Griff turned to Knuckles.

"You're sure that he's the one?"

"I've been sure ever since you told me he was part of the team." Knuckles stood back up.

"Even if he is, there's no way he'd leave Knothole and abandon his cause." Griff argued.

"I don't think he'll have a choice." Knuckles replied, "We need Sonic and his Freedom Fighters or Mobius will fall."

"No pressure." Griff muttered.

"This isn't the time for jokes!" Knuckles growled, clenching his fists, "You and I know what will be at stake if Sonic doesn't agree to help!"

Griff was about to respond when a group of Mobians ran right past them.

"Whoa!" Griff exclaimed, grabbing one of them by the arm, "What's going on?"

"There's something out in the meadow!"

"What now?" Knuckles growled.

"Let's check it out!"

The moose and echidna ran across the bridge, through the dark forest and then out to the meadow. When they arrived, they stopped short. Their jaws nearly dropped from what they saw: A group of around 500 mobians was slowly walking through the meadow towards Knothole, each with a dazed expression on their face, almost as if they were waking from a living dream but weren't sure if it was real or not.

"Whoa..." Griff gasped in awe.

"That's an understatement." a similarly impressed Knuckles replied.

* * *

><p>1940 Hours, Great Meadow<p>

As Knuckles and Griff were adjusting to the amazing phenomenon that stood before them, a dark shape flew across the sky above the meadow. Searing flames shot out of its boosters, propelling it through the air.

Suddenly, about 500 yellow blips flashed up on its radar.

Granted, this would not have been of any interest to it had it not detected something else.

Near the same location, it also picked up a signal that was most definitely a robian, only it was slightly... different. It wasn't the signature that Robotnik's metallic arm gave off, but it would have to do.

The figure altered its course and flew towards the signal.

*NEW OBJECTIVE: LOCATE SIGNAL AND INTERROGATE ROBIAN ON LOCATION OF DR. ROBOTNIK*

* * *

><p>1941 Hours, Robotropolis<p>

Deep below his headquarters, Snively and Gamma entered a secret chamber. Opposite the door was a complex array of computers and sensors obviously meant to regulate some source of extremely potent energy.

The control panel sat in front of a pane of glass looking in on an ancient square stone chamber. Ancient text was engraved into the sandstone walls, floor and ceiling.

Snively stepped forward to the computer and activated it.

He flipped several of the switches on the control panel and typed in multiple codes on the keypads. After roughly 10 minutes of this repetition, Snively had re-constructed the program that could retrieve anything or anyone from within a separate dimension. After Snively typed in the final commands, he signaled to the automaton standing next to him. Gamma pressed a blue button next to the keypad and pulled the black lever next to the button.

Suddenly, the wall to the left opened a crack. The horizontal crack slowly widened until it became a gaping mouth large enough to swallow a full-grown elephant. Behind the door was a sea of violently pitching pink energy. A spiral of yellow energy constantly revolved amidst the chaos. Hurricane force winds beat at the chamber walls.

Then, in the middle of all the chaos, a small, nearly unnoticeable spot appeared. It slowly grew larger and larger until it became a dark figure that stumbled into the chamber. The great stone doors shut behind it.

The figure's appearance did not fit the description of any animal: It was short and stocky with broad shoulders, had a yellow rhino's horn upon its bald head, bat ears, a dragging tail, a white beard that reached down to its torso, a lobster claw in place of its left hand, and a dark purple cloak that draped down its back with a collar that extended up above its head. For a while, the dark cloaked figure remained silent and still.

Suddenly, the creature stirred. It slowly pushed itself up on all fours and then stood up on its feet. A red light leapt from the dark figure's eyes as he clenched his right fist. A wicked smile spread out across his lips.

"E-102 Gamma," Snively announced, "Meet Ixis Naugus."


	14. Reflection

_Who is that girl I see,_

_Staring straight back at me?_

_Why is my reflection someone I don't know?_

_Somehow I cannot hide who I am, though I've tried._

_When will my reflection show who I am inside?_

* * *

><p>1943 Hours, The Great Forest, Knothole, Infirmary<p>

Chuck and Rotor, followed closely by Muttsky, carried Sonic into the infirmary. The main reception area was built into a thick redwood, while the rooms were in two structures built into either side of the tree. As they entered the main room, all three were met by an elderly, grey-haired chipmunk wearing a slightly faded red hood and a blue blouse.

"Oh, my word!" She gasped, observing the hedgehog's injuries, "What happened?"

"It's a long story, Rosie." Chuck replied, "Do you have a room open for him?"

"I believe I do." the chipmunk turned around and walked down the right hallway, "Follow me."

As they walked down the corridor, Rosie found herself thinking to a more peaceful time. She had been the caretaker of the young Freedom Fighters before Robotnik's coup. When it began, she led the children to the safety of Knothole. However, she never told anyone that a future Sonic the Hedgehog and Princess Sally had helped them escape. The only other Mobian who knew about it was Uncle Chuck, who also knew of Sonic's time-traveling shenanigans.

Rosie shook her head; Would this madness never end?

A few minutes later, Chuck and Rotor laid Sonic on the bed in one of the rooms. Muttsky lay curled up on the floor, protecting his owner and getting in a short dog-nap. Rosie stood by, watching the scenario with nervous eyes.

Rotor attached sensors to several spots on Sonic's body. The sensors were connected to a machine that gave a readout of Sonic's vital organs. While Rotor did his work, Chuck brought out ointment and other medical supplies. He applied cleaning fluid to some of Sonic's scratches and put a sling on the hedgehog's right arm.

Tails ran into the room, immediately asking without stopping to take a breath, "How's Sonic doing?"

"We'll find out in a minute..." Chuck said, activating the machine. It immediately displayed an X-Ray of Sonic's body.

"Wow. His vitals are all intact, and his arm's almost healed." said Rotor, closely examining the X-Ray, "The energy from the DP stones is healing his body on the inside and outside."

"Anything else?"

"Nothing else looks wrong." Rotor reported, "He's right as rain."

Ironically, a flash of light outside followed this comment, quickly followed by a crash of thunder. There was a drumming noise on the ceiling as a deluge hammered the forest.

"Looks like we got back just in time." Rotor commented as he looked out the window, "It's really pouring out there."

"I'll say." A familiar voice said from the door.

They all turned and saw...

"Aunt Sally! You're back!" Tails exclaimed.

Muttsky jumped up and put his front paws on Sally's chest, barking excitedly.

"Oh, Princess, it's good to see you safe and sound!" Rosie said.

"What'd you have to take care of?" Rotor asked.

"I think it's best if I show you." Sally said, pressing the palm of her hand on Muttsky's head. She closed her eyes and her eyes instantaneously flared with a pink light. Muttsky began glowing with the same pink light.

Everyone shielded their eyes as the light became blinding.

When the light died down, Chuck's eyes were immediately drawn to Muttsky.

"Amazing..."

Muttsky's rough metallic skin was gone. In its place was yellow fur and flesh-and-blood. The mutt sniffed his lower hind quarters and then licked his paw, whining questioningly as if confused about what had just happened. He was a little disappointed that he didn't have his armor anymore.

"Sally..." Rotor said, in awe of what he had just seen, "Did you just..."

"Restore Muttsky?" broke in Chuck.

"Yes." Sally replied, turning to Chuck, "And I can do the same for you, Sir Charles."

"Okay..." Chuck said warily.

Sally placed the palms of her hands on the metal hedgehog's chest and right shoulder.

The same light that had cured Muttsky flashed again, and when it died down, the result was the same. Chuck's metallic armor was gone. He was no longer pure metal, now he was flesh and blood.

"Incredible." He gasped, looking down at his hand, "You actually did it, Sally!"

"What about everyone else in Robotropolis?" asked Tails.

"Well..." Sally hesitated, "Let's just say we'll need to build some... temporary... shelters for now."

Before Chuck or Rotor could respond, they heard Sonic groan. He slowly opened his eyes and looked around the room. Muttsky whined and licked his left hand.

"M-M-Muttsky? W-where am I?" the hedgehog asked groggily.

"We're back at Knothole, sonny." His uncle replied

"U-Uncle Chuck?" Sonic stuttered, taking in his appearance, "You're..."

"I'm better now." The elderly hedgehog replied with a wistful smile, "Everyone else is too."

"Oww... That smarts." The hedgehog groaned, pressing his left hand against his chest, "Wait... Tails! What happened to Tails?"

"I'm fine, big bro."

"He's safe, Sonic." Sally said, placing her hand on Sonic's re-assuringly, "Everyone's safe."

"A-and Bunnie? Where is she?"

It suddenly occurred to the others that they hadn't seen Bunnie after they had returned to Knothole.

"She probably went back to her hut." replied Chuck, "I think she wants to be alone for a while."

* * *

><p>1947 Hours, Knothole, Power Ring Pond<p>

Bunnie sat on the edge of the log laying in the Power Ring Pool, staring down at her reflection in the water. Her shoulders and ears were drooped, and her green eyes were filled to the brim with sorrow and tears. However, for some reason, the tears just wouldn't flow.

She was soaked through to the skin, but she either didn't notice it or pretended not to. Honestly, she felt the same on the inside as she looked on the outside.

After they had returned from Robotropolis, she had broken away from the crowd and come here to think. But that was the problem: There were so many thoughts whirling around in her head that it was hard to focus on just one. However, there was one that kept repeating itself: She had almost killed Sonic.

The reason why the blue hedgehog was lying on a bed in the infirmary, the reason why he had gone on a mindless rampage, and the reason why he was hurt was simple: It was all her fault.

Granted, she had been cured of her roboticized form, but was it really worth what had happened?

She knew that she hadn't been in control of her actions, but at the same time, she was still aware of what she had been doing. The rational part of her mind told her she ought to have done something to resist Snively's control.

While the robotization process enslaved the Robian's actions, they were still aware of what they were doing, but were completely unable to do anything about it. It was a fate worse and far more sinister then death. However, there were some Robians who were able to resist Robotnik's control, like Uncle Chuck.

Her thoughts suddenly drifted back to her robotization.

Two years ago, she, Antoine and a Freedom Fighter named Kat had gone with Sonic and Sally to Robotropolis for what should have been a routine scouting mission. Sally had been on the outskirts of the city monitoring their progress while Sonic attracted the SWAT-Bot's attention. Their job was to scout Robotnik's factories and assess the rumors of a supposed chemical machine that he was planning to use on the Great Forest.

However, things had quickly gone south after Antoine freaked out over a sound which turned out to be a rat running through the garbage. SWAT-Bot's had quickly captured them and taken them to Robotnik's Headquarters.

Since she was a valuable member of the Freedom Fighters, and exceptionally skilled in martial arts, Robotnik had her put in the Roboticizer so she could serve him as his mechanical enforcer and give him vital Freedom Fighter information.

Fortunately, Sonic had rushed in at the last second and disabled the machine. In the ensuing chaos, they escaped. Unfortunately, they found that Robotnik had succeeded in roboticizing her lower torso and left arm.

Bunnie quickly realized that things would not go back to the way they once were anytime soon. Not to mention, many of the citizens of Knothole were wary of her after her robotization, which worsened her feelings. However, there was one who stood up for her and gave her support through that rough period of her life: Sonic the Hedgehog.

The hedgehog, alongside the martial arts knowledge she had been taught, helped her to master her newfound strength. Sonic even formed a close bond with her, closer then when they were kids. Over the course of a week or two, Bunnie came to realize that she did have feelings for the hedgehog, but any hopes she had for ever expressing her feelings were dashed when she saw Sonic and Sally's kiss the night the Doomsday Project was destroyed.

Almost instantly, the events of the day immediately played back in her mind.

The emotions she had kept bottled inside herself suddenly burst forth like a dam filled to the brim, her hands flying up to her eyes as the tears she had been holding back burst forth and flowed freely down her cheeks, mixing with the raindrops on her face. Her whole body shook as she sobbed for herself and her friends, but she mainly wept for Sonic.

She knew there wasn't any denying the facts: She loved Sonic. She had loved him ever since she first knew him as a child.

Suddenly, an image flashed to her mind.

_"Thanks for savin' my life tonight, Bunnie!"_ Sonic had said as they were carried over the bridge by the jubilant Mobians.

_"Sometimes a metal body comes in handy. But ah still have somethin' a robot'll never have..."_

"A mind and a heart of mah own..." she said aloud.

Sure, she had been roboticized, but she was now herself. And, the last time she checked, she was still Sonic's friend, and as Sonic's friend, all she could do at the moment was see to his health, not cry over it.

She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"C'mon, Bunnie." She told herself, standing back up, "Ya can't cry over something you had no control ovah."

Bunnie walked towards the shore. She jumped off of the log onto the wet sand and headed back towards the main hub of Knothole. Little did she know what she was about to run into.

She was walking through the forest towards the council building when her nose caught a whiff of smoke. She glanced around, not able to see much of anything in the dimly lit forest.

Acting on instinct, she dove to the side and somersaulted. Above her, branches and twigs broke and snapped as an immensely heavy object plummeted to the ground, landing where she had been just a few seconds before, splattering mud and water in all directions. The object was still for a few seconds. Suddenly, it moved, slowly shifting its position until it stood on what she assumed were its feet.

A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the dark forest, catching the form of a robot over two times Bunnie's size. Its optics glowed bright red, giving it a slightly demonic look

Bunnie's pulse began racing as the machine's vision settled on her.

*SIGNAL LOCATED* It droned, stomping towards the rabbit, *INITIATING INTERROGATION*

* * *

><p>1952 Hours, Knothole Council Building<p>

"So that _iz_ _'ow_ you are coming to be here?"

"Yes." Knuckles replied to the confused Antoine, "I know it's a lot to swallow, but it's true."

Knuckles, Griff, Ari, Lupe, Palo, Dirk and Antoine were all sitting around a table under the roof of the council building. After the sudden exodus of Mobians into the village, everyone scrambled about to find room for them all. Some had suspended canopies between trees while others had built lean-to's for temporary shelter from the rain.

Everyone was confused about what was happening, Knuckles included. However, there were some Mobians who wondered about Knuckles' sudden appearance and even more about his existence. Echidna's were apparently not the norm here in Knothole, he had thought to himself. So he and Griff decided to tell them the reason for his appearance.

"How long has Griff known about this?" asked Lupe.

"Actually, Knuckles and I have been friends for years." Griff explained, "When Robotnik took over, Knuckles' father helped me and the others escape below the city. He even gave us the parts to build the crystal generator."

"How'd you even get your hands on that tech?" Palo asked the echidna.

"It's... complicated." Knuckles replied hesitantly.

"What's that noise?" Lupe inquired suddenly.

The female wolf's question directed their attention to thick bushes and trees that had begun swaying violently, as if something was rushing through them and knocking them down like a house of cards.

Suddenly, a wet and muddy Bunnie ran out of the thick undergrowth, tripped over a tree root and fell forward on her knees.

"Bunnie!" she heard Griff's voice shout, followed by two strong arms pulling her up. She glanced to her left and saw a kindly, yet concerned, face of an anthropomorphic cat. The others were crowded around her, looking at the situation with confused expressions.

"K-Kat? How are ya...?"

"Sally restored all of us." the mobian replied in a somewhat gravelly voice, "What are you running from?"

Bunnie was about to reply when the trees behind them suddenly snapped like toothpicks and were flung up into the air. The bulky E-123 Omega charged through, scanning all of the Mobians around him.

*YOU WILL ANSWER MY QUESTION!* The automaton roared at Bunnie, sending the Mobians (mainly Antoine) scattering in fright, *WHERE... IS... ROBOTNIK?!*

* * *

><p>Author's Note: The plot thickens! Stay tuned!<p> 


	15. Mortal Combat

1954 Hours, Knothole Infirmary

Sonic slowly sat up on the table, carefully stretching his limbs.

"How do you feel, Sonic?" Chuck asked.

Sonic slowly rocked his head back and forth on his shoulders, "Not half-bad, Unc. I feel a little sore, though."

"That's impressive." Rotor remarked, "Your right arm was broken a few hours ago. Your injuries are healing faster then anything I've ever seen."

"Speaking of which..." Chuck muttered, turning to the young fox and elderly chipmunk in the room, "Rosie, Tails, could you two please go outside for a minute?"

"Very well." Rosie nodded, gesturing for Tails to follow her, "Come along, Tails."

After the door closed behind Rosie and Tails, Chuck turned to Sonic.

"Sonic..." He began, speaking in a tone of voice that reminded the hedgehog a little bit of his father, "I know this has been a rough night for you, but I need you to tell me what happened."

Sonic rubbed his temples. His eyebrows scrunched up in thought.

"It's all kinda hazy." He began, "Bunnie was about to... to kill Tails. I couldn't sit up, but I had to do somethin'. Suddenly, I started feeling angry. The next thing I knew, I was tackling Bunnie and then... nothin'. It's all a big blank up until Sal freed me."

"Do you remember anything else, Sonic?" Rotor asked, "Maybe a brief glimpse?"

"Well, this'll sound a little weird, but for a sec, I was in space."

"What?"

"Was it Robotnik's spy station?"

"No..." Sonic replied, "It was kinda like it, but it wasn't."

"Rotor, what do you think this means?" Sally asked.

"Well," Rotor mused, "Theoretically, Sonic could have access to Mephiles' memories, since he's, y'know, possessed."

"But what about the space station?" Rotor asked, "As far as I can tell, Robotnik's only attempt at sending a vessel into space was the spy station."

"Then what could it be?" Sally asked.

"A better question I have is what does Snively have planned?" Chuck interrupted, "I doubt he'll be any less ruthless then Robotnik."

Their musing was suddenly interrupted by the door flinging open and a brown moose rushing in and skidding to a stop.

"S-Sally!" Griff gasped, bending over to catch his breath, "Th-there's a robot near the council building... It's attacking Bunnie!"

* * *

><p>Same Time, Knothole Council Building<p>

Omega stomped towards Bunnie and Kat, clenching his fists.

Knuckles, Lupe, Ari, Palo and Dirk crowded in front of Bunnie, acting as a shield.

"Kat, get Bunnie out of here!" Knuckles shouted.

As Kat covered Bunnie's escape, Knuckles withdrew his shovel claws and secured them over his hands.

*MULTIPLE ASSAILANTS DETECTED* Omega's defenses droned as he scanned his opponents, *INITIATING BATTLE MODE*

Ari and Palo charged, only to be sent flying back with a swat from Omega's hand.

"Frontal attacks won't work on that thing!" Knuckles shouted, circling around Omega, "You have to attack from the rear! The armor's weaker on the back!"

As he said this, he slashed straight through the robot's rocket boosters. Sparks flew as the booster's vital circuits were compromised.

*ERROR- ROCKET BOOSTERS DISABLED. FLIGHT CAPABILITIES NEUTRALIZED*

Omega turned around to face Knuckles. The robot powerhouse converted his hands into machine guns and aimed them at the echidna.

Knuckles leapt back, somersaulting away from the machine's bullets. He jumped up onto the trunk of a strong oak, leapt, glided and tackled Omega to the ground. The echidna raised his claws and aimed them at the machine's optics.

Omega diverted a portion of his power into operating his arms, pushing himself upwards. Knuckles was caught off-guard and wavered. Taking advantage of the echidna's temporary disability, Omega seized his arm and flung him into the river.

Suddenly, he felt something sharp slash his back and another embed itself into his already damaged boosters. He turned around and saw Lupe brandishing one of her daggers while Dirk flexed his sharp claws.

Ari and Palo charged Omega from both sides, crushing the left and right sides of his body as they collided.

Omega fell forward on his knees, propping himself up with his servos.

Ari, Lupe, Palo, Dirk and a drenched Knuckles all charged forward to deliver the final blow.

*SHIELDS ONLINE*

Almost immediately, a transparent blue energy barrier flashed up around Omega's body, shielding him from their attacks.

*INTERNAL REPAIRS INITIATED* Omega droned. The dents and scratches in his armor began to fade as his systems began to heal his injuries.

Knuckles drove his claws into the shield, but they bounced off like a rubber ball on a trampoline.

Ari, Palo, Lupe and Dirk all charged, but their attacks were rebounded as easily as Knuckles'!

"Nothing we have can breach that thing's shield!" Ari shouted as Lupe slashed at the shield again and was repelled.

_Maybe this can!_

A beam of pink light suddenly streaked out of nowhere and struck the shield.

*FOREIGN ENERGY SIGNAL DETECTED. ANALYZING... SUFFICIENT FOR SELF-REPAIRS* Omega's systems droned, *DE-ACTIVATING SHIELD. INITIATING ENERGY ABSORPTION SEQUENCE*

The others turned and saw Sally levitating in the air a few feet away, firing a beam of energy concentrated through her hands. Chuck, Griff and Tails came running up behind her and stopped.

"What is that thing?" Tails asked.

"I don't believe it, he's alive!" Chuck gaped in astonishment. His astonishment quickly turned to sudden realization when he saw the excess energy being drawn into the droid's body like water flowing down the drain of a kitchen sink.

"Sally, stop!" the hedgehog shouted, "He's absorbing the energy from your attack!"

It was too late, for Omega began glowing with a pink hue similar to Sally's. The damage he had sustained vanished almost immediately.

*ENERGY RESERVES AT 250%* His systems droned as he stood back up, *SYSTEM RECOVERY COMPLETE. INITIATING BATTLE MODE*

"Aw, crud." Knuckles groaned.

* * *

><p>2005 Hours, Robotropolis<p>

Snively and Ixis Naugus walked into the secret laboratory below Snively's headquarters.

"Is your body experiencing any crystallization, Naugus?"

Naugus flexed his hand, "No, it is not. Your theory was right." He commented to Snively, "The only way I, or the King, could leave was if we were released through the way we entered into The Void."

"The portal here vibrates at a different frequency then the one you created in the Great Unknown." Snively explained, "That's why you and the King began to crystallize once you were outside of the Void. Your bodies were destabilized by the frequency of your portal and began to convert into a crystallized form. "

The Void was an alternate dimension that Naugus had discovered in the days before Robotnik's coup. It was he who had created the portal that connected both worlds, and it was he who had been trapped inside due to Robotnik's treachery and deceit. Naturally, Naugus did not take kindly to betrayal, and went straight after Robotnik after he escaped, while King Acorn, who was also trapped in the Void, was rescued by Sonic.

Unfortunately, Naugus and Acorn's bodies began to crystallize once they were outside the dimension. The only way for both of them to survive was to return to the crystal wasteland.

However, unbeknownst to both Robotnik and the Freedom Fighters, Snively and Naugus began to communicate secretly after the incident. They worked out a plan to exact Naugus' release and bring about Robotnik's defeat. Of course, thanks to Sonic and his friends, their plans were accelerated.

"Why don't I tell you of recent events?" Snively asked, "There is a lot I need to fill you in on."

"Very well." Naugus replied.

Snively recounted everything that had happened since Doomsday's destruction to the day's Freedom Fighter attack. While he did so, he guided Naugus through the laboratory and then took the wizard up into his headquarters, bringing him up to date regarding recent upgrades to security.

The tour finished in the War Room, with Snively sitting in his command chair and Gamma standing next to him. Naugus stood in front of the monitors, observing the activity and destruction that had been wrought during the battle.

"It seems that you have some rebuilding to do." The wizard noted.

"Yes, thanks to the princess and the hedgehog." Snively replied, "What remains of the SWAT-Bot's are currently working on restoring the city, but until then, I'm afraid I'm short on workers."

"If it's soldiers and workers that you need, I can help with that."

The wizard snapped his fingers, and in a flash, a 10 foot golem appeared before Snively.

Its entire body was made of crystals, from its three-fingered hands to its two-toed feet to its sharply pointed head to its dragging spiked tail. Spikes protruded out of its body at random intervals. There was no symmetry to the creature's design, not even in its head.

"It's a bit crude, but impressive." Snively commented, "However, monsters will not get us far in our conquest."

"I'm certain that they will suffice for now." Naugus replied, "Besides, I'm certain you can create more SWAT-Bot's before long."

"I can." Snively confirmed, "My assembly lines are already building more as we speak, along with some... upgraded versions."

* * *

><p>2020 Hours, The Great Forest, Knothole<p>

"Watch it!" Knuckles shouted as Omega unleashed an extremely potent beam of energy from his cannons.

Ari and Dirk dodged the attack. It streaked past them and leveled a copse of trees.

Lupe, dagger in hand, leaped at Omega. The machine swung out his arm and caught the wolf on the side of her face. She was knocked to the side and fell to the ground, dazed.

_Everyone, get back!_ Sally ordered, flying straight towards Omega, _I'll take care of this!_

Sally instantly created a projection around her body that was completely identical to Omega.

Omega clashed his claws together, *YOUR ABILITY TO MIMIC MY APPEARANCE IS IMPRESSIVE, BUT USELESS*

Sally and Omega charged, colliding with such force that they created a small shockwave, propelling themselves backwards for a short distance.

Omega righted himself faster then Sally and charged towards her, pinning her against an oak by her arms. Sally's projection evaporated as she struggled to break the machine's grip.

*YOU MADE AN ERROR IN YOUR ATTACK STRATEGY* Omega droned, *YOUR ENERGY OUTPUT, ADDED WITH MY PHYSICAL STRENGTH, HAS GREATLY INCREASED MY POWER. MY STRENGTH FAR EXCEEDS YOUR POWER NOW*

_Strength isn't the only thing I can use!_ Sally declared. Two beams shot out of her eyes and struck Omega in the chest, pushing him backwards.

Sally pushed herself up and charged at Omega. However, Omega stood back up and clenched his robotic fist. With startling speed, the automaton intercepted Sally with a major uppercut to the chin, knocking her unconscious.

Everyone watched in horror as Omega turned to face them all.

*I WILL ASK YOU AGAIN* He droned, *WHERE IS ROBOTNIK?*

"Robotnik's dead." Lupe said.

*WHAT?*

"Are you _'ard_ of _'earing_?" Antoine replied, placing his hands on his hips, "Dr. Robuttnik _eez_ dead as a toenail."

Omega stumbled backwards, the news striking him like a boulder to the face.

*THAT... NO!* He growled, charging up his laser cannons and aiming them at the group, *YOU'RE LYING, YOU'RE ALL LYING! TELL ME WHERE ROBOTNIK IS OR I WILL DESTROY YOU ALL!*

"STOP IT!"

Omega turned and unleashed the energy that had built up in his cannons, striking Bunnie directly in the chest!

Bunnie screamed in pain as the beam's energy coursed through her body. The pain she felt was unlike anything else she had ever endured. She fell to the ground and lay still.

Suddenly, she began glowing with the same pink aura as Omega. Her eyes snapped open and she pushed herself into the air, landed and charged Omega, ramming him in the chest with the top of her head. Bunnie wrapped her arms around Omega's waist and propelled herself and the automaton into the air and over the trees.

"Holy..." Griff gasped as they disappeared into the dark sky.

"They're headed for the meadow!" Chuck shouted, running towards the bridge.

As they sailed through the air, Omega loosened Bunnie's grip around his waist and threw her down towards the grassy meadow below.

Bunnie flipped in the air and landed squarely on the ground. The palms of her hands were planted firmly on the grass as she shot a glance at the automaton hovering above her.

Griff, Chuck, Ari, Lupe, Palo, Dirk and Tails scrambled up onto a suspended platform built into a thick oak tree to view the battle below.

"This is nuts!" Griff exclaimed, "How is Bunnie doing this?"

"The energy from Omega's laser probably had adverse effects on her body." Chuck theorized, holding his chin thoughtfully, "It increased both her strength and speed. But there's one thing that still doesn't make sense..."

"What's that, Charles?" Ari asked.

"Sally's energy has only granted a boost of abilities to machines, but has had no effect on ordinary Mobians."

"In other words," Palo replied, "The energy shouldn't have even affected Bunnie."

"Then how is she doing this?" Lupe asked.

Everyone turned their attention towards the battle in the sprawling meadow just in time to see Bunnie dodge an entire volley of missiles launched by Omega. She skidded to a stop, ran and propelled herself upwards straight at the machine.

Suddenly, circuitry and metallic plating sprang out from under Bunnie's skin. It concealed her limbs, torso, hands and feet, merging together seamlessly. From underneath her metallic collar, more metallic pieces shot out and formed an aerodynamic helmet that concealed her entire face from view while covering her ears with a protective metallic shielding.

In the span of only a few seconds, Bunnie's features had disappeared underneath a suit of armor that was more streamlined then her fully roboticized form. A shield formed on her left wrist and her right hand re-configured into a katana while other metallic plates slid out from her back and merged to form two identical metal wings. Flames shot out from the soles of her feet, propelling herself even faster towards the automaton.

Omega converted his left hand into a machine gun and replaced his normal claws with his titanium claws.

Bunnie clenched her left fist and hit Omega with an uppercut to his helmet. Omega was sent tumbling back in the air, but quickly righted himself. He fired a salvo of missiles at Bunnie and blasted towards her.

The rabbit used her shield to block most of the missiles while slicing the remaining ones in half. Suddenly, she was tackled by Omega and held by the automaton's strong grip. Omega tightened his grip, slowly bending Bunnie's armor.

Bunnie's rocket boosters flared up, propelling both herself and Omega upwards. She broke free of the automaton's grip and struck Omega with a backhand shield hit to his chest. Omega faltered temporarily, giving Bunnie enough time to attempt to drive her katana into his chest.

Unfortunately for Bunnie, Omega was fast enough to catch the blade as it sped towards him. He bent it into a right angle and countered by hitting Bunnie with endless rounds of ammunition.

Bunnie whipped out her shield to deflect the automaton's bullets. However, one of the bullets hit her left rocket booster. She immediately dropped to the grassy meadow below, landing on all fours before standing up on her feet.

While Bunnie was re-gaining her balance, Omega altered his course and flew downwards to meet the rabbit. He retracted his weapons and replaced them with his laser cannons.

*DIVERTING AVAILABLE EXCESS ENERGY TO BEAM CANNONS*

Omega's cannons began glowing with a hue that was a mixture of the pink aura Omega was glowing with and the purple hue of his energy blast.

*TARGET ACQUIRED*

"AUNT BUNNIE, LOOK OUT!" Tails yelled.

The robotic rabbit looked up and saw the automaton rocketing towards her. On instinct, she somersaulted backwards as the blast of Omega's cannons hit the ground.

The explosion created by the blast was so bright that everyone standing on the elevated walkway shielded their eyes. When it finally died down, there was a 15 square foot crater where both Bunnie and Omega had been fighting.

Omega hovered over the crater, scanning for the rabbit's energy signature.

*TARGET ELIMINATED* He droned, flying away from the crater.

Suddenly, a grey blur moving at speeds faster then even Sonic's observed top speed streaked towards Omega.

Bunnie rammed him in the chest and began pummeling his armor with a successive series of fast strikes, punches and kicks.

Omega could have kept up with the rabbit's attacks, but his excess energy had already been exhausted when he used his beam cannons. Now he was moving slower then when he was hyper-charged with energy. He began swinging his arms out to try and hit the airborne rabbit.

Bunnie flew behind Omega, converted her fingers into razor-sharp claws and shot her arm forward towards the automaton's boosters. They sank into the machine's circuits, sending out showers of sparks.

Omega plummeted towards the meadow below, crash-landing full on his chest.


	16. A Mirror to the Past

Author's Note: I've had quite a bit of free time recently, which accounts for the rapidity in chapter posting. Anyway, here's another chapter!

* * *

><p>2035 Hours, The Great Meadow<p>

Badly damaged, Omega slowly pushed himself up, standing shakily on his lower servos. His armor was heavily dented, marked with deep scratches and had a large crack on the right side of his body.

*D-DAMAGE ANALYSIS: ALL S-SYSTEMS*

*ROCKET BOOSTERS: OFFLINE*

*ARMOR: COMPROMISED*

*ENERGY AT 1.5% AND DROPPING*

*RECOMMENDED ACTION: POWER DOWN SYSTEMS FOR EXTENSIVE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL REPAIRS*

*N-NO!* Omega growled, slowly limping away, *I... MUST FIND... ROBOTNIK!*

*FURTHER MOVEMENT/COMBAT WILL RESULT IN PERMANENT SHUT-DOWN*

*SHUT UP!*

Suddenly, Omega's systems picked up the rabbit's energy signature; She was walking straight towards him!

"What's she doing?" Griff asked, his expression the same mask of shock and awe that everyone else had.

"She's going to talk to him." Chuck responded, looking at Omega like a sorrowful father observing his decrepit son.

"She's going to TALK with that thing?" Dirk responded incredulously, pointing at Omega, "It's a killing machine!"

Omega, hunched over and struggling to stand up, suddenly straightened. The panels on his chest, wrists, hips and back slid open, and his hands retracted into his storage units. Almost immediately, an entire array of cannons, machine guns and missiles emerged from within his body, all pointed at the rabbit.

Bunnie walked closer, not frightened by his endless arsenal of weapons.

Omega could have fired at Bunnie if it wasn't for something he saw in her eyes. Instead of seeing fear, he saw... compassion? This observation had the same effect on him as an amnesiac suddenly regaining their memories.

*YOU...* He said, retracting his weapons and pointing his shaking servo at the rabbit, *WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT?*

"Because yer hurt, sugah." Bunnie replied, placing her right hand lightly on his left servo, "Ya need help."

*I DO NOT REQUIRE ASSISTANCE* He growled, shaking off her hand and stumbling away.

Suddenly, he tripped and fell headlong on the ground. Bunnie quickly ran towards him and turned him over on his backside. To her dismay, she saw that his optics were glowing a dull red.

"What's wrong?" She asked.

*M-MY SYSTEMS...* Omega droned, *R-RUNNING LOW ON ENERGY. N-N-NEED TO POWER D-DOWN*

"We'll get ya help, sugah." Bunnie said, lifting the heavy automaton off of the ground and guiding him towards the forest, "Don't worry... what's yer name?"

*UNIT DESIGNATION: E-123 OMEGA...* The droid replied. All too quickly, his optics dimmed and his body went completely limp.

Chuck, Tails and the others climbed down the ladder and ran towards Bunnie.

"Dirk, Ari, go back to the infirmary and tell Rosie to get another room ready." Chuck ordered, "Lupe, Tails, go see if Sally's okay. Palo, Knuckles, let's go give Bunnie a hand."

As the others ran off, Chuck, Palo and Knuckles ran to help Bunnie.

"What took y'all so long?" She said as the others came up, "Ah could use a hand here! A girl can't lift a giant robot all by herself!"

Palo and Knuckles walked forward to help. The echidna took the weight of Omega's top half while the rhino lifted up the robot's lower torso.

"Man, this thing is heavy!" Palo grunted under the robot's weight, "It must weigh 10 tons!"

"What're ya talkin' about?" Bunnie asked, "He's not THAT heavy."

"You're sure about that?" Palo asked, "This guy's as heavy as a boulder."

"Oh..." was all Bunnie could say. She looked down at her hands, _'Is this what the shock from the de-roboticizer did ta me?'_

As the group arrived at the infirmary, Rotor ran outside and gawked at their cargo.

"Uncle Chuck..." he gasped, pointing at the machine, "Is that...?"

"Yes, it is." Chuck replied, "E-123 Omega."

"Wow!" Rotor exclaimed, excitedly examining the machine's armor, "This is incredible! An actual E-100!"

"Ya can freak out over this later, sugah-Rote!" Bunnie reprimanded the walrus, "He needs some juice!"

"Oh, right." Rotor replied, calming down, "But... uh, we'll need some other place to do it. We can't fit him in here."

"I know just the place!" Palo said.

About 45 minutes later, Griff, Bunnie, Rotor, Chuck, Palo, Sally, and Knuckles were gathered under the roof of the council building. Many of the restored Mobians were lying underneath the tarps suspended between the trees, sleeping peacefully after so many years of tireless enslavement.

However, some were still awake, and were whispering to one another indistinctly as they observed what was happening under the roof of the Council Building.

Omega was propped up against the left wall of the outside room of the council building. Above him, an electric light hooked to the ceiling cast a yellow light on his armor and the assembly of Freedom Fighters standing under the ceiling. Rotor hooked a makeshift electric generator to Omega's systems via blue and red wires.

"How does this work, again?" Tails asked.

"Well," Rotor began, pointing to a belt connected to a rod protruding out of the machine, "When the belt here is turned by the water wheel's rod here," he pointed to the water wheel built into the left side of the council building where the belt was connected, "It generates electricity which travels up the wires to Omega's battery."

"It's hard to believe that you actually built this generator with only spare parts from your closet." Palo responded, impressed by the walrus' mechanical prowess.

"At least it wasn't wrecked by that Doomsday Pod." Rotor replied, still thinking of his ruined workshop.

"I don't mean to point out the elephant in the room," Griff interrupted, "But why are we repairing this thing?"

"Omega was one of Robotnik's most valued soldiers." Chuck explained, making sure that the wires were properly connected, "He's sure to have sensitive intelligence that we could use to our advantage."

"That wasn't the response I was looking for, Chuck." Griff replied, listing his arguments with his fingers, "This thing attacked your village, almost killed Sally and Bunnie, and did who knows how much damage during Robotnik's coup! So pardon me if I seem a little cautious about giving this thing a jump-start."

"Griff," Chuck spoke in a grave voice, sighing as he did so, "Something I've come to realize is that there's no use dwelling on past events. The Roboticizer and the E-100's are my greatest failures, but if Omega joins us, maybe he can help undo the damage that I created."

"All right..." Griff shrugged, seeing there was no way to dissuade the hedgehog, "If you say so."

"Cross your fingers, guys!" Rotor said, removing a rod restricting the wheel's movement. The wheel began turning as the water pushed against its slots. The belt moved in time with the rotating axle, simultaneously turning the generator's rod.

*... SYSTEMS RE-ENERGIZING* a robotic voice droned from Omega's body, *TIME UNTIL FULL POWER: 2 HOURS, 30 MINUTES. SELF-REPAIRS INITIATED*

The cracks, dents and breaches in Omega's armor slowly began to fade as his systems healed his body once again.

"Well, this could take a while." Rotor yawned, walking down the council building steps with Palo behind him, "Palo and I are gonna check on the others and then get some shut-eye."

Chuck, however, stood rubbing his chin thoughtfully, while Bunnie sat next to the machine, resting her head against his wrist storage unit. Sally was sitting on the steps, looking out at the village through the rain and Knuckles stood leaning against the wall, eyes closed.

"Sally, give me NICOLE." The elderly hedgehog said.

"Okay," Sally tossed the handheld device towards Charles, "What for?"

"I'm going to try and get Omega's systems running again." Charles explained as he pulled a cord from NICOLE and plugged it into a slot near Omega's head, "By the way, how's your head?"

"Still sore," Sally replied, gingerly rubbing her jaw, "He's got a strong punch."

As memories of the E-100's passed through his mind, Chuck flipped the portable computer open.

"Hmm..." He muttered, opening and closing the screen a few times, "That's odd."

"What?"

"NICOLE's not turning on." Chuck replied, looking at a black screen.

As he said this, the screen flashed on with a blue light.

"Ah, never mind. NICOLE, re-boot Omega's systems."

*Y... YES, I-I MEAN, RE-BOOTING*

Chuck and Sally immediately cast confused glances at each other.

"I've never heard her talk like that before." Chuck muttered.

"You haven't heard her around Sonic." Sally replied.

Omega's body suddenly began shaking.

*SYSTEMS COMING ONLINE... E-123 OMEGA INITIATING RE-ACTIVATION PROTOCOL*

Omega's optics slowly lit up with a dull red light. He scanned his surrounding before settling on Chuck.

*S-SIR... CH-CH-CHARLES?* He spoke in a garbled, staticy voice, *W-WHAT ARE YOU D-D-DOING H-H-H-HERE?*

"I was going to ask you the same question, Omega." Charles replied.

*I-I-I W-WAS S-SEA-SEARCHI-SEARCHING...*

"For Robotnik?"

*Y-Y-Y-YES... I WAS ATT-ATTEMPTI-ATTEMPTING TO LOCAT-LOCATE HIS LA-LAST POSITION WH-WHEN I DE-DETE-DETECTED A R-R-ROBIAN ENERG-ENERGY SIGNATURE*

"Me?" Bunnie asked.

*Y-YES... I-I WAS HOP-HOPING TO AC-ACQUI-ACQUIRE ROBOTNIK'S LOC-LOCATION FRO-FROM Y-YOU*

"But, Omega... Robotnik's dead."

*H-H-HE I-IS?* Omega's shoulders sagged, *TH-THE-THEN THEY WE-WERE TE-TELL-TELLING THE TRUTH?*

"They were, sugah-bot." Bunnie said, placing her hand comfortingly on Omega's left servo, "But... why were ya lookin' for him? What did he do to ya?"

*M-M-MY MEM-MEMO-MEMORY FILES* Omega stuttered, *Y-YOU CAN AC-ACCESS TH-THE-THEM AND S-S-SEE. I N-N-NEED T-TO POW-POWER D-DO-DOWN U-UN-UNTIL MY SYSTEMS FULLY CH-CH-CHAR-CHARGE*

The light in Omega's optics faded and his body went limp again.

"NICOLE, access and display Omega's memory files." Chuck ordered.

A hologram appeared in front of them, displaying a catalog of different dates and times. Chuck selected one and an image appeared. A male anthropomorphic squirrel/chipmunk hybrid stood on a stage in front of a great crowd of Mobians.

"Daddy..." Sally gasped, tears gathering in her eyes.

"Citizens of Mobotropolis!" The king began, "As of today, the war with the Nocturnus has ended!"

Whoops, hooray's and cheers arose from the crowd.

"And I'm sure we all know who to thank." The king said, turning to whoever was behind him, "The military command of Julian Kintobor, the ingenuity of Sir Charles Hedgehog, and the selfless service of our own Team Omega!"

"NICOLE, stop playback." Chuck commanded, "Return to recordings."

Chuck selected another entry and an image of a far-off village appeared. It looked like Omega was standing on top of a tall rock formation.

*ALL RIGHT, BOYS* Omega said, turning to the other E-100's standing behind him,*I DON'T THINK I NEED TO REMIND YOU WHY WE'RE HERE*

*WE'RE UNDER ORDERS TO APPREHEND ANY MEMBERS THE WOLF PACK SUSPECTED OF ALLYING WITH THE NOCTURNUS* Beta, a black automaton, responded.

*AND CONFISCATE ANY NOCTURNUS WEAPONRY THEY MAY HAVE BUILT* Gamma, standing next to Beta, continued.

*GOOD. ANY QUESTIONS?*

*UM...*

Omega sighed and turned towards Zeta, a timid looking purple automaton, *WHAT IS IT THIS TIME, ZETA?*

*WELL... UH...* The automaton replied, shaking nervously and wringing his metallic hands, *WHAT IF THEY HAVE HEAVY ION TURRETS? 'CAUSE I'D REALLY LIKE TO PULL THROUGH THIS WITH MY CIRCUITS INTACT*

*OUR INTEL SAYS THAT THE WOLF PACK DOES NOT HAVE ANY HIGH-GRADE WEAPONRY AT THE CURRENT TIME, ZETA* Epsilon said, placing his servo on Zeta's shoulder comfortingly, *HOWEVER, IF WE WASTE ANY MORE TIME TALKING INSTEAD OF TAKING ACTION, THEY MAY FINISH DEVELOPING THE WEAPONS FOR THE NOCTURNUS*

*THEN LET'S STOP TALKING AND GET A MOVE ON!* Delta, standing next to Gamma, spoke up.

*ALL RIGHT. TEAM OMEGA, LET'S MOVE OUT!*

"NICOLE, freeze playback." Chuck commanded.

"Robotnik used them to attack the Wolf Pack?" Sally asked in bewilderment.

"After hearing intel from Robotnik that they were building weapons for the Nocturnus!" Chuck said, finishing Sally's sentence.

The screen's image changed back to the list of recordings.

Chuck scrolled down and selected the next-to-last entry.

"Interesting."

"What?" Griff asked.

"There's a ten year gap between this entry and the last one." Chuck announced.

"Ten years? Could he have been shut down?"

"Maybe..." Chuck shrugged, selecting the entry, "Let's find out."

The image quickly changed to a series of events that made Sally, Charles, Griff and Bunnie's blood run cold.

"Oh my gosh..." Sally gasped as they both witnessed Robotnik's betrayal of his loyal servant.

"So that's what happened to them..." Charles muttered in shock. He selected the next entry and saw the events that the E-100 witnessed throughout the day.

"Hmm..." the elderly hedgehog mused, "NICOLE, access Omega's central programming."

A stream of information flashed across NICOLE's screen, and Chuck's eyes widened.

"Fascinating." he muttered, processing the information in his brain, "According to the info here, before he shut down completely, Omega created a program that not only re-activated his systems when the others were re-activated, but also protected his main systems while he was offline."

"That's pretty smart for a machine." Griff commented, "Now we know why he was after Robotnik."

"Yeah, but I don't think Omega will be able to stay here." Sally commented, "I doubt everyone will be receptive of an E-100."

"He'll be staying." Chuck interrupted, "As I said, Omega can help undo the damage that we've both done."

"Sir Charles is right." Knuckles said, surprising them all after being silent for such a long time, "Believe it or not, Omega has a major part to play in what's happening right now."

"What?"

Knuckles sighed, rubbing his forehead in frustration, "I think it's time I told everyone else... AND Sonic."

Bunnie yawned, rubbing her eyes, "Could we do it in the mornin', though? I'm plum tuckered out."

"All right." Knuckles relented, "It's late, anyway. I'm sure it's been a rough night for everyone."

As Sally, Griff, Chuck and Bunnie went to find some place to sleep, Knuckles activated the transmitter on his wrist.

"Knuckles contacting HQ." He announced, "Athair, we have a problem."


	17. Angel Island

0855 Hours, Knothole, Council Building

As the sun rose over the Great Forest, the morning light settled over Knothole once again. Some Mobians found it hard to believe everything had happened within the course of just one day, which seemed like an eternity ago to them.

Knuckles stood before all the Freedom Fighters and the leaders gathered on the stage of the Council Building. Omega was among the group, fully repaired and recharged, but his attendance did not go without a few suspicious glances from some Mobians who passed by.

"Okay..." Knuckles inhaled, "I think it's best to start with why I'm here. First off, I'm the leader of a Freedom Fighter team keeping tabs on Robotnik since the coup."

"Whoa, whoa..." Sonic interrupted, holding up his hands, "Hold on a sec, Knucklehead, if you're part of a Freedom Fighter team, why haven't we heard of you guys?"

"We haven't had the best experience in finding friends." Knuckles admitted, "A few years ago, we established communications with a group of Freedom Fighters... and things went south. So we've been a little hesitant when it comes to forging allies."

"So why are you here?" Sally asked.

"And how?" Lupe asked, "I thought Echidna's disappeared from Mobius years ago."

"Firstly, I'm here because I was sent here by my great-grandfather." Knuckles replied, "Secondly, the reason for my... um, well, existence, requires some explanation. It might be a little overwhelming, however."

"Knux, dude, we've already seen some mondo crazy stuff." Sonic responded, "I think we can take it."

"All right..." the echidna shrugged, "Let's start from the beginning: Thousands of years ago, my ancestors were pitted in a violent war against a sorcerer named Mogul."

A confused expression instantly flashed across Sonic's face, "Wait... what?"

"Wait until I'm finished, please." Knuckles replied with a warning glare, "Mogul was originally a hunter, but he somehow gained terrifying dark powers. With his new power, the sorcerer conquered many of the surrounding tribes, but was soon overthrown because of his cruelty."

"Hold on a second..." Lupe interrupted, "I think my grandfather told me about this. Mogul formed an army of followers for his conquest of Mobius."

"Precisely..." Knuckles replied, silently impressed, "Mogul and his Order of Ixis were bent on conquering the entire planet. The only resistance came from the echidna tribe, and when they proved to be more of a challenge then he anticipated, Mogul sought out two spirits: Mephiles and Iblis."

"Iblis..." Sally said quietly as her head tried to wrap around what the echidna was saying.

"Both spirits were trapped within vessels hidden in the most remote locations on Mobius." Knuckles continued, "Mogul asked for their allegiance in exchange for their release. Mephiles agreed instantly, but Iblis was wary of the sorcerer. Her suspicions were confirmed when Mogul attacked some innocent villagers. Enraged, Iblis turned on Mogul and Mephiles, vowing to protect the tribes."

"I guess Mogul didn't like that." Lupe remarked.

"That's just putting it nicely." Knuckles replied, "He vowed to destroy her and the tribes she protected. Iblis realized that Mephiles and Mogul were too powerful together, so she approached my ancestor Pachacamac for his alliance. He agreed, and Iblis granted portions of her power to his warriors."

"Power..." Sally muttered quietly, a flame flashing in her eyes.

"With his warriors empowered by Iblis' energy, Pachacamac drove back against Mogul's forces." The echidna continued, "Unfortunately, they only slowed down his conquest of Mobius. Then, something worse happened."

"Define 'worse'." Sonic asked with a barely visible swallow.

"How about 'Mobius becoming unstable' worse?"

"You're joking..." The hedgehog said with a nervous chuckle.

"I don't think he is, sonny." Chuck replied, "How did that happen, Knuckles?"

"Mephiles and Iblis' energies affected the surface of the planet. Iblis could energize anything she was around, while Mephiles could have the opposite effect." Knuckles explained, "The war empowered his negative aura, slowly draining the life out of the planet. Mobius became unstable, and it was almost destroyed."

"What stopped it?" Lupe asked.

"Tikal, Pachacamac's daughter, pleaded with a spirit called Chaos to save her people and all of Mobius. Chaos created the Master Emerald, which channeled the instability into the Chaos Emeralds." The echidna said, "Mephiles was weakened as a result, and Iblis used the Emeralds to seal herself and the dark spirit away inside the Deep Power Stones. With one of his key players sealed away, Mogul attacked the echidna's in an attempt to retrieve Mephiles. Chaos, however, knew the sorcerer would attack, and used the emeralds to strip him and his followers of their power and banished them from Mobius."

"So, why does history say the echidna's vanished from Mobius?"

"Simple." Knuckles responded, "Chaos lifted their colony and the surrounding land into the air to ensure they would not be threatened. Many historians just assumed that the echidna's slowly died out after the war. Chaos entrusted the emeralds to Tikal, and hid the Deep Power Stones where they would never be found."

"Until today..." Sally said quietly.

"I'm afraid so." Knuckles said, "That's where I come in. When I heard that Robotnik had activated the Doomsday Project ahead of schedule, I went to investigate. I arrived at the moment it was destroyed by two projectiles definitely empowered by the Deep Power Stones."

"I think that was our doing." Sally said slowly.

"I thought so." Knuckles replied, "After that, I headed here to contact you, but I found a little more then I expected."

Bunnie awkwardly glanced down at the floor, gripping her elbow with her hand.

"I asked Griff about the Freedom Fighters here, and when he told me about Sonic, it reminded me of an old echidna prophecy."

"A prophecy?"

"Yes, Tikal had a vision before her death. She saw that Mogul would return, and Mephiles and Iblis would come back as well." Knuckles said, "Their return would either mean a new era of prosperity, or Mobius' destruction."

Sonic and Sally looked at each other with horrified expressions.

"Oh no!" Antoine gasped, "We are _doom-ed_!"

"However," Knuckles spoke up, "There is some good news. Warriors would arise to face Mogul, and they would be led by a hero who would bring the Chaos Emeralds together to defeat the sorcerer and settle the conflict between Mephiles and Iblis."

"Wait a sec, Knux." Sonic interrupted, "Are you talking about me?"

"Who else would I be talking about? You've been fighting Robotnik's forces for 10 years." the echidna replied, "You and your team have given hope to the world, something that no other Mobian has ever done. However, there is the issue of Mephiles and Iblis, but we'll deal with the issues as they arise. Now, it's time to introduce you to my team."

As he said this, Knuckles withdrew an object from within his pack. As it entered the light, everyone could see that it was a multi-faceted diamond that glistened with multiple shades of green.

"Chaos Control."

Suddenly, the Emerald flashed with a light that temporarily blinded everyone. When it finally died down, everyone found themselves in a thick forest with tall trees. They found themselves standing on a dirt path clear of any weeds or shrubbery.

"Where are we?" Tails asked.

"Follow me." Knuckles said, walking down the dirt path.

Everyone else followed after the echidna and they eventually reached the outskirts of the forest. As they walked, a murmuring river drew closer to them until it was parallel with the path. Suddenly, the river dropped and the water fell over the side of a cliff... or at least it looked like a cliff.

Bunnie walked towards the edge and peered over.

"Oh mah stars!" She gasped.

Everyone else gathered around Bunnie and saw the ocean stretching out miles below them.

"Freedom Fighters," A deep, slightly slurred voice said from behind them. They turned around and saw an elderly echidna clad in a white robe, wearing leather sandals on his feet, and holding a wooden staff with a green jewel embedded in the top in his right hand. His dreadlocks were adorned with beads, each one a different color: red, yellow, green, and orange.

"My name is Athair." He said, "Welcome to Angel Island."

* * *

><p>910 Hours, Robotropolis<p>

"Amazing." Snively commented, leaning forward in his chair to listen, "So the princess and the hedgehog are now inhabited by Mephiles and Iblis?"

"Yes." Ixis Naugus hissed, "And to control them, we'll need to harness the powers of the Chaos Emeralds."

After showing Naugus the damage to the city, Snively inquired about Mephiles and Iblis. The wizard proceeded to tell him one of the most fantastic stories he had ever heard. Granted, he would have dismissed all of this had he not experienced the last ten years of war, but the last statement from the wizard gave him greater pause for disbelief then anything else.

"The Chaos Emeralds?" Snively asked confusedly, "Julian spent nearly 10 years searching for them, but the only one he found vanished after an incident with the hedgehog."

"He didn't know how to find one." The wizard replied, "He was also not familiar with their properties. They cannot be located by mere machines."

"Then how do find them?"

"We must find a Chaos Emerald."

Snively's palm hit his face in exasperation, "Didn't you just say they couldn't be found? What makes you think we'll be able to find one?"

"My magic will help in the search." The wizard growled, "Furthermore, the Emeralds are all linked to one another. All we have to do is find one, and then our search will be easier."

"That may be, but it's not like there's an emerald lying around for us to find!"

"Actually," Naugus interrupted, "There's an Emerald located within this very city."

"What?"

* * *

><p>0915 Hours, Angel Island<p>

"You're kidding!" Rotor gasped, "This is Angel Island? The floating island that legend describes as a haven for many Mobian species?"

Everyone, Knuckles and Athair included, looked at the walrus with astonished expressions.

"What?" Rotor replied, "I have a life outside of tinkering with machines."

"Your knowledge of this island's history is impressive." Athair replied, rather impressed, "But this island is much more then a legend. Follow me."

The echidna turned and walked down the dirt path. Everyone else followed behind.

"You have done well, Knuckles." The elderly echidna said, "But..."

"But what?"

Athair looked back at the group and then to Knuckles, "I don't approve of your decision to bring the machine."

"With all due respect, Great-Grandfather," Knuckles replied, "Omega is most likely one of the warriors mentioned in Tikal's prophecy."

"I am not sure about that. I sense an aggressive spirit in him... and in the hedgehog as well." Athair said in a grave voice, "As long as Mephiles is inside Sonic, I'm afraid we are all at risk."

"What should we do?"

"One thing at a time, Knuckles." The echidna replied, "I would suggest teaching him how to control Mephiles' power."

"Is that even possible?" Knuckles asked, "Mephiles isn't a Chaos Emerald."

"He is, in a way." Athair said, much to Knuckles' surprise, "The Princess has harnessed Iblis' abilities, so Sonic should be able to do the same with Mephiles' power."

"But won't Sonic be corrupted?"

"Remember what I've taught you, Knuckles." Athair replied, "A warrior with a clear head can resist the greatest evil."

"Okay..." Knuckles shrugged.

"Good. Ah," Athair shifted his eyesight to a structure directly in front of them, "We are here, everyone."

Everyone looked ahead and saw a stone structure sitting before a thick forest. A flight of stairs led to a wide cylindrical platform resting underneath a stone canopy supported by four stone beams. Sitting in the middle upon a stone platform was a large, multi-faceted green jewel. Water was flowing down the sides of the platform like a fountain into a basin at the bottom. It was surrounded by seven stone pillars, each one about 15 feet high, around three feet in circumference and four feet in diameter. A red jewel similar to, but smaller then the Master Emerald, sat atop one of the pillars.

"What is this?" Sally asked.

"The Master Emerald Shrine." Athair replied, "It was built to guard the Master Emerald and the Chaos Emeralds."

Behind the group, up in the trees, a figure obscured by the shadows peered out at the group with narrowed yellow eyes. He reached behind his back and withdrew a long, sharp object from a sheath secured around his chest. He leapt down from the tree and rushed out towards the group.

Bunnie saw the attacker quicker then anyone else. It was hard for her to later describe exactly what she felt or how she did what she did, except that all she did was act on pure instinct. As the intruder, whose appearance seemed a little blurry, jumped at her with sword in hand, her armor emerged and shielded her body from the ninja's weapon all in a matter of seconds.

*ALL RIGHT, NOW* She growled, her right hand converting into a katana, *HOW 'BOUT YA TAKE ON SOMEONE YER OWN SIZE?*

The ninja shifted into a fighting stance, holding the handle of his sword with both hands.

"C'mon, guys!" Sonic said, "Let's give Bunnie a hand!"

"Wait," Knuckles interrupted, holding his arm in a 'halt' position, "Let's see what she does."

As he said this, Bunnie slashed her sword at the ninja. The figure blocked her attack with his weapon and countered by flipping a kunai from seemingly out of nowhere and stabbing it below her arm.

Bunnie pulled the weapon from her side without so much as wincing and threw it to the ground. Her damaged armor regenerated almost immediately.

The ninja drew back and instantly vanished into the forest. The rabbit ran in the direction she thought the ninja had run off in, scanning her surroundings for any sign of the attacker.

Suddenly, she was propelled forward and collided face-first with one of the trees. In shock, she fell on her back.

Suddenly, the ninja appeared above her as quickly as he had disappeared.

"Get up." He said in a deep voice, sheathing his sword, "I will not attack you while you're down."

Bunnie cautiously stood up, pointing her katana at the ninja while she did so.

"When you're ready..." The blurry figure responded, drawing out his weapon.

Bunnie charged at the ninja, who intercepted her blade with his. A fierce duel quickly broke out between the two, with both of them attacking, parrying, deflecting and swinging their weapons. Then, the ninja dropped down and swung out his legs into the rabbit's.

To Bunnie's surprise, he easily swept her legs out from under her, and she found herself lying on her back. Fortunately for her, her new armor increased the speed of her reflexes, and she stood back up almost instantly. She pulled the ninja's katana from his hands and threw it into a thick trunk, where it stuck.

Bunnie rushed the ninja, attacking him with a flying side kick. The dark figure ducked under her attack, jumped up and kicked her in the back. Bunnie managed to somersault safely back onto her feet, quickly turning to block a flying front kick from the ninja. She countered with a successive series of punches, all of which the ninja either blocked or dodged.

_'How's he not hurtin' himself?'_ Bunnie wondered as the ninja deflected a punch as easily as brushing away a fly, _'Mah armor should've broken his hand when he hit it.'_

She shifted into her sphere form and accelerated out of the forest, away from the ninja.

The ninja moved after her, quickly yanking his sword out from the tree and vanishing again. He jumped into the trees, moving quickly through the branches in pursuit of the rabbit. Once at the forest's threshold, he propelled himself in front of her and stopped her in her tracks... with the palm of his hand.

Bunnie shifted to her humanoid form and hit the ninja with an uppercut to the chin. The ninja flew through the air, spun around and landed squarely on the ground. Bunnie propelled herself forward with her feet boosters and threw a punch at him.

The ninja quickly moved to the side, cupped his right hand under her elbow, seized her hand and sent her flying head-over-heels towards an oak tree. The rabbit spun in the air and landed with her feet planted squarely on the tree. She propelled herself down towards the ninja.

The dark figure drew out his sword, stepping out into a solid defense stance, just in time to intercept Bunnie's attack. Both warriors instantly traded a series of extremely fast blows, but what Bunnie had in strength, the ninja made up for with skill and agility. He flipped out several kunai, quickly stabbed them into her armor, and jabbed his fingers into the exposed spots. Bunnie suddenly found her entire body going limp and she fell on her back. Her armor retracted back under her skin.

Sonic and the others ran towards the two. As quickly as he had appeared, the figure vanished into thin air.

"Wha... who the hoo-ha was that?" Bunnie asked as Rotor and Tails helped her to her feet.

"That was Espio." Athair explained, "I believe he was trying to determine her skills."

"More like he was tryin' to kill her..." Sonic muttered.

"Espio's behavior is odd, Sonic," Athair interrupted, "But there's always a reason for what he does. Besides, I don't think Bunnie's the only one who needs training."

Sonic almost responded when he felt something touch his shoulder. He turned and saw a small blue creature about a foot tall with stubby hands and feet floating in his line of sight. It also had tiny wings on its back, a yellow ball floating above its head and a curious expression on its face.

"What the..." he gasped in surprise, "What is this?"

"A Chao." Athair replied, "Legend says they are the children of Chaos."

As Athair said this, three other Chao approached the group. They flitted around them for a minute or two before flying back to the shrine.

"Knuckles, would you please introduce them to the others?" Athair asked suddenly, "There's something I must see to."

"Right away." The echidna replied, turning around and walking under an archway formed by the tree branches, "Follow me, guys."

The others followed the echidna, while Athair stayed behind. He turned and walked towards the temple.

"It's all right." He spoke aloud as he ascended the temple's stone stairs, "You can come out."

Almost immediately, one Chao emerged from behind the furthest pillar. Then another appeared, and then another until the monument was surrounded by a cloud of Chao, some looking like the four accompanying the group, others with completely different shapes and colors.

Then, the water surrounding the shrine began bubbling as if it were boiling. Jets of water instantly spouted out of the pool and into the sky. They converged in front of Athair, forming a bipedal, hunchbacked water creature with glowing green eyes.

Many of the Chao gathered around the creature, making happy chirping noises.

_Athair..._ The creature spoke.

Well, speak isn't the best way to describe how it communicated. Rather, its thoughts were how it communicated with others.

_I... do not trust the hedgehog_

"Is it because of Mephiles?"

_Yes..._ Chaos replied, angrily narrowing its eyes slightly, _I do not want him harming my children_

"He will not." Athair replied, "Chaos, none of these Freedom Fighters mean any harm to your Chao."

_I know, but the machine... Chaos answered, I have seen it before. It committed great atrocities against Mobius and its people. It cannot be one of the warriors Tikal saw_

"Good or bad, I'm afraid the machine will have a part to play in this, Chaos." Athair responded, "But you don't have to worry, I'll keep a watchful eye on it."

_So will I, Athair_ Chaos replied, collapsing into a puddle of water and returning to the pool, _My children are too precious for me to lose_


	18. Team Chaotix

_Team Chaotix_

_They're detectives you want on your side_

_Team Chaotix_

_Their directive's trackin' down your crime_

_Come along for the ride_

_The truth can run but not hide for long_

_The game is on now_

* * *

><p>1015 Hours, Underneath Robotropolis<p>

Power coursed through wires connected to a gigantic cylinder in the middle of a dark room. The wires spread away from the machine before being abruptly stopped by a metal wall that sloped in a quarter circle arc up to the top of the metal cylinder.

Suddenly, there was a dull thudding noise on the wall to the left of the cylinder. The thuds soon became more frequent and louder, and the wall shuddered rapidly until it finally caved in, letting in, along with an eerie light, a giant creature. Its crystal hide glistened with shifting lights as it stepped through the breach.

As the crystals on the creature's battering weapon shifted back into a crude three-digit hand, two figures entered the hole it had just created.

"Just where I thought it would be..." Ixis Naugus hissed as he walked toward the machine.

"How did you know about this place?" Snively asked, looking around the area nervously, "I thought nothing was down here."

"This room was a royal family secret." Naugus replied, "Not even Julian had access to the information. I, on the other hand, already knew about it."

The wizard snapped his fingers together. In an instant, a jagged ring of crystals flashed up around the bottom of the machine. They climbed up the cylinder like vines along a brick wall, completely obscuring it from there vision. As quickly as the crystals had appeared, they shattered into a million tiny pieces. The ceiling and floor were instantly bathed in a bright white light that made Snively and the titan shield their eyes.

"Finally!" Naugus cackled as the light floated down into his hand, "Behold, Snively, the first of the Chaos Emeralds!"

* * *

><p>950 Hours, Angel Island<p>

The thick trees slowly lessened as Knuckles and the other Freedom Fighters reached the end of the forest.

Stretching out before them was a small village filled with thatch-roofed huts and some larger metal buildings. Many Mobians of all different species and cultures were milling about or working in their gardens. There were some wary glances at Omega from some of the inhabitants as they walked through the village.

"This is Haven." Knuckles explained, "It's a, well, haven for many Mobians who fled Robotnik's coup."

"Wow!" Rotor exclaimed as he observed the echidna's walking about, "This is awesome! There are could be so many Mobian species coexisting together here!"

This was true. The echidna's were only one of many species that they saw in the village. Other Mobians that lived among the echidna's included rabbits, dogs, cats, even a dragon or three.

The walrus' amazement was interrupted by the sound of a muffled explosion.

"What was that?" Tails asked.

"Oh no..." Knuckles groaned, breaking into a run.

The group ran towards a building fashioned from stone, metal and thick steel beams. They burst through the door into a room obscured by a thick cloud of smoke.

"I can't see a thing in here!" Chuck coughed.

"Oh, hang on!" A deep voice choked, "I'll open the vents!"

Suddenly, with the sound of metal scraping against metal, the panels running around the ceiling slid open. The smoke poured through the opening and into the fresh air of Haven.

With the room clear, everyone noticed evidence of a large explosion: fire-scorched floors, tables and walls, and glass shards on the floor. There was an inner cylinder in the middle of the room, obviously an elevator, that presumably lead to the roof. Supports at the top of the shaft spread out across the ceiling and ran down the walls. A staircase leading to the next level wrapped around the center shaft.

"What happened in here?" Bunnie asked.

"Chemical explosion." The voice replied. A figure stood up from behind a fire-blasted table near the wall to their right.

"AAAUUUGGGHHH!" Antoine shrieked as the creature, a multi-eyed creature, fully revealed itself, "ZAT CREATURE HAS MULTIPLIED EYES!"

"Wha... oh, this?" The creature asked, pointing to his extra eyes. He pressed what looked like a button on the side of his head and with the sound of whirring gears, the other eyes suddenly retracted into his main eyes.

"Sorry about that." He apologized as he took off what were actually a pair of metal grey goggles and placed them on the table behind him, "I was observing the chemical reactions of isotopes in different liquids and acids when it got... a little explosive."

"Did you add any stabilizing agents?" Rotor asked.

"No." The echidna responded, brushing off his arms, "I didn't think any of the resulting mixtures would be volatile."

"Looks like you were wrong." The walrus commented as he glanced around the fire-scorched workshop.

The echidna was about to respond, but was interrupted when Knuckles loudly cleared his throat.

"Huh? Oh, sorry Knux." the echidna replied as he noticed the group standing before him, "My name's Arcos: Angel Island's resident mechanic, scientist and computer expert. Anything you want me to make, tinker with or hack, I can do."

"Arcos, you're supposed to be with the others, not in your lab." Knuckles said sternly.

"Sorry, bro." The echidna shrugged, "When you didn't show up, I got restless."

Tails did a double take, "Wait, he's your brother?"

"You bet!" Arcos replied, puffing his chest proudly, "Ol' Knux and I are both Locke's sons!"

The echidna's attention was drawn to something behind them. Sonic turned around and nearly jumped out of his sneakers: The Chao he had seen at the shrine was standing in the doorway! It looked up at Sonic with adoring eyes, and with an impressive burst of speed, jumped and latched onto his arm.

"Whoa!" Sonic shouted in surprise, trying to pry the little guy off of his arm.

"Oh, cool! You've bonded with a Chao!" Arcos exclaimed, looking behind him, "Hold on a sec... Hey, Corso!"

A red Chao with dreadlocks similar to Arcos' quickly flew down the staircase. A welding mask rested on top of its head and a small leather tool belt with bulging pockets was secured around its torso. It was more then slightly peeved as it stopped in front of the echidna and quickly began making angry chirping sounds and squeaks. It poked Arcos in the chest and then pointed up to the next floor.

"Okay, Mr. Personality." Arcos replied, throwing his arms up in exasperation and then pointing to the others, "I'm sorry for interrupting your work, but we've got visitors."

Corso looked at the group, nodded in acknowledgement, then returned his focus to the echidna, resuming his angry squeaks and chirps. He pointed to the scorch marks on the floor from the explosion.

"That was an accident, okay, buddy?" Arcos replied, "How was I s'posed to know the mixture of those compounds would be unstable?"

The two went on arguing for a good five minutes, completely oblivious to the confused expressions of their guests. Both the echidna and the Chao were suddenly interrupted by Knuckles loudly clearing his throat.

The echidna folded his arms, "If you two are finished arguing, we need to take the Freedom Fighters to see the others."

"Sorry, Bro." Arcos replied, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

Corso didn't say anything, save cross its arms stubbornly and give a squeak.

"Good."

A few minutes later, the group walked into a gaping cave that looked like a hungry mouth ready to swallow them whole. The passage inside was lit up by a string of lights that gave a decent glimpse of the tunnel.

"I am not liking _zis_ scary place..." Antoine whimpered, "_Eet_ _eez_ probably inhibited by scary creatures."

"You mean inhabited, Tony." Dulcy corrected.

"Hang on." Knuckles ordered, pushing against the wall to his right.

The wall in front of them slid upwards, revealing an illuminated underground cavern approximately the same size as Knothole. The cave was dotted by several buildings made of metal, much like Arcos' workshop, and was lit by a series of giant lights on the ceiling and the walls, all of which were connected to the same generator near the back of the cave via a criss-crossing web of wires and pipes.

Knuckles led the others to a shack near the back of the cave. He pushed open the door and entered the cabin with the others following behind. Since Omega and Dulcy were too large, they stayed outside and peered in through an open window.

A wooden desk sat opposite the door. A lamp cast its light on a large anthropomorphic scaly creature leaning back in a metal chair. He had his hands resting behind his head, his eyes were closed and he wore a set of black headphones (currently blaring rock and roll music, to which he was humming loudly and rocking his head) on his head. He wore white gloves on his hands, a gold chain around his neck and a pair of large black and white sneakers on his feet.

A red and black humanoid armadillo wearing white gloves and red sneakers stood to the right of the desk. Standing next to him was a green and black armadillo wearing a cloak that concealed her body from the neck down. A yellow anthropomorphic squirrel stood behind the armadillo's, wearing white gloves, sneakers and a blue jacket.

In the back corner of the shack, a purple chameleon (Espio, many of them realized) stood with his eyes closed and arms folded. He wore white gloves with attached black gauntlets, and purple and black shoes.

Two anthropomorphic bees sat on the desk. The male one wore a black helmet with attached pilot's goggles, an orange sweater, white gloves and orange shoes. The yellow-haired female bee wore a pink dress, white gloves, an orange sweater with white frilly cuffs and pink slippers on her feet.

"Hiya, Knuckles!" The male bee piped up.

"Hey, Charmy." The echidna smiled, "Sorry I'm late, guys."

"No sweat, Knux." The armadillo responded, "But we were starting to wonder if you'd ever show up."

"No way..." Sonic gaped, his eyes lighting up with recognition, "Mighty?"

"Whoa..." The armadillo gasped, a warm smile passing over his face, "Sonic! Long time no see!"

"I'll say!" Sonic replied, seizing Mighty's hand in a firm handshake, "I was wonderin' what you'd been up to after that prison riot!"

"Just bringin' the pain to Robuttnik." The armadillo winked, "Following in your footsteps!"

Sonic laughed, "Way past cool, dude!"

"Oh, you remember Ray, right?" The armadillo turned to the squirrel behind him.

"Sure do!" Sonic replied, rubbing the squirrel's furry head, "How ya doin', little guy?"

"I-I-I'm f-fine." The young squirrel stuttered, "I-It's good to s-see you a-a-again, S-Sonic."

Sonic saw the armadillo standing next to Mighty.

"Matilda?"

The armadillo didn't respond, she only turned away from the hedgehog.

"What's with her?" Sonic asked Mighty.

"It's a long story." Espio said, standing next to Vector's desk, "But we can talk about it later."

The chameleon thumped the crocodile's elbow. Vector opened his eyes and took notice of Knuckles.

"Oh, sorry, Knuckles!" He blurted out in a gravelly voice, fumbling with the volume on his headphones, "Didn't see ya there!"

"You do know that loud music is bad for your hearing, right?" Charmy piped up.

"In case you haven't noticed, Charmy," Vector growled, "I'm a croc! And I can handle loud noises!"

"That's enough, boys." The female bee interrupted, "We have visitors, as you can see."

Charmy blushed, "Sorry, Saffron."

"So..." Sonic asked after the silence became a little awkward, "Why d'you guys call yourselves the Chaotix?"

"Robotnik brought the chaos to Mobotropolis, so we decided to return the favor!" Vector growled.

"We named ourselves the Chaotix to remind us of our desire to create as much chaos as possible to tick off Robotnik!." Charmy replied enthusiastically.

"How'd y'all meet?" Bunnie asked.

"Well," Knuckles pondered, "During Robotnik's coup, Athair and my father rescued many of the Mobians in the city and gave them a home here on Angel Island."

"And you guys were some of those refugees?" Palo asked.

"Some of us." Mighty said, "Vector and Charmy were already on Angel Island before Robotnik's coup."

"What about the ninja?" Lupe asked, eyeing Espio suspiciously.

"I've lived on Angel Island since I was born." Espio replied, "I come from Rainbow Valley, a refuge for chameleons. I specialize in stealth and reconnaissance."

"So what was with that thing at the shrine?" Ari asked.

"I was curious when Knuckles mentioned a mobian rabbit in his report, so I decided to test her skills." Espio said calmly, "I apologize if my actions aroused suspicion."

"So..." Sonic said to the male armadillo after a few quiet seconds, "How'd you end up with these guys, Mighty?"

"Well," Mighty pondered, "After the prison break, Matilda and I ran into a group of refugees being led to Angel Island. Locke took us in and when we realized we couldn't just sit by, we joined the team."

"So... why are we here?" Sonic asked.

"Like I said," Knuckles said, "You are the warrior that Tikal saw in her vision, the one who would use the Chaos Emeralds to defeat Mogul."

"But you only have two Chaos Emeralds..." Griff interrupted.

"True," Knuckles admitted, "We've been looking for them for a while, but we haven't had much success."

"That's one of the reasons you're here..." Matilda spoke with a calm voice, surprising after her period of silence, "You can help in the search for the Chaos Emeralds."

"What about Mephiles and Iblis?" Sally asked, unable to hide the concern in her voice.

"That's where I come in." Knuckles spoke up, "Sonic, Sally, Athair will train you two to fully control your powers."

"What about the rest of us?" Lupe asked.

"No sweat!" Vector said with a wave of his hand, "We've got everything here to fully prep you guys! We've got a gym, Espio's dojo, Arcos' laboratory, and an ammo shack for the robot guy!"

"Omega." Bunnie corrected sternly.

"Whatever."

"I appreciate the thought, sonny, but I don't think some of us are entirely fit for combat." Chuck indicated himself and Rotor.

"No problem!" Arcos said in response, "You guys can help me and Corso out in the lab!"

The offer immediately triggered another long string of annoyed squeaks from the echidna's partner Chao.

"Look at it this way, buddy." The echidna shot back, "You'll finally have some 'certified help' in the lab."

"If I may," Espio spoke up, "I would like to train Bunnie to hone her abilities, and if Mighty agrees, I'd like to have Matilda assist me."

Mighty hesitated for a moment.

"All right..." He relented, "If you say so, Es."

"Now that we have everything settled, let's get to it." Knuckles said.

The entire congregation walked outside. Chuck pulled Sally to the side for a moment.

"Sally, could I have NICOLE?"

"Why?"

"During the De-Roboticization process in Robotropolis, NICOLE was hit by an electricity surge." Chuck replied, "I want to see if that had something to do with her behavior last night."

"Okay," Sally relented, handing over the device to the hedgehog, "Just... be careful, okay? I don't want to lose another friend."

Chuck nodded, walking to join Arcos, Corso, Rotor and Omega.

Sally joined Sonic and Knuckles, and they walked out of the cave.

Little did they know that they were being watched.


	19. Freedom Fighter Boot Camp, Part 1

1030 Hours, Angel Island, Arcos' Laboratory

Arcos walked into his workshop with Chuck, Rotor and Corso behind him. Omega was behind them, but he couldn't fit through the doorway.

"Oh, hang on, big guy." Arcos said, pushing a button on the wall.

The doorway widened and grew taller as the metal plates surrounding the door slid together, making a space big enough for Omega to fit through. The E-100 walked into the workshop, scanning his surroundings.

*WHY AM I HERE?* He asked suddenly.

"Well," Chuck hesitated, "Arcos wanted to get a closer look at your systems, probably run a diagnostic scan and..."

*THAT WAS NOT WHAT I MEANT* Omega interrupted, *I MEANT WHY AM I HERE ON THIS ISLAND WITH A MOBIAN SPECIES THAT HASN'T BEEN SEEN IN CENTURIES? I SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEACTIVATED BY THE ROBIAN BACK AT THE VILLAGE*

"What's with him?" Arcos asked Rotor as they worked at a scanner built to examine machines.

"Well, Omega was one of Robotnik's strongest warriors, but Robotnik shut him down and put him and the rest of his team into storage."

"I don't see why he did that..." Arcos muttered, quickly glancing at Omega, "If you ask me, it'd make sense to have a powerhouse like Omega as part of a military takeover force."

"That wasn't what I programmed the E-100's for." Chuck spoke up from his position near Omega.

"Oh, Sir Charles! I... uh, you heard... I mean..." Arcos stammered, "You helped build them?"

"Yes," Charles sighed reluctantly, "I did. I was in charge of their programming, but Robotnik had other plans for them."

"Oh, that Robotnik." The echidna muttered jokingly, "Always so predictable."

"I programmed the E-100's to protect the people of Mobotropolis," Chuck explained, "But Julian decided to use them for his conquest."

Chuck told Arcos everything about Omega's deactivation, reactivation, rebellion, and his attack on Knothole.

"Omega's pride was hurt." Chuck explained, chuckling slightly, "His designation is Walking Arsenal, and yet he was beaten by a Mobian less then half his size."

"A machine having a sense of pride?" Arcos replied incredulously, "That's pretty out there."

"This coming from an echidna who's lived on a floating island for most of his life?" Rotor asked.

"Touche'." Arcos nodded, "Still, I can't believe I have the commander of the E-100's in my lab! I listened to military reports during the war when I was younger, so I heard all sorts of reports on their exploits. Just imagine the things we can learn from his programming!"

"Now, Omega," Chuck said slowly, "We're going to run a quick diagnostic of your programming and scan your systems, just in case Robotnik or Snively put in any unexpected surprises. All you have to do is walk into that scanning device."

Omega walked towards a rectangular device with cameras secured to the roof, walls, and floor. The doors closed behind him as he entered.

Arcos turned the device on. In an instant, a stream of green text and information flashed across the computer screen attached to the machine, and then displayed a green outline of Omega's frame.

"All right!" Arcos declared excitedly, rubbing his hands together in giddy anticipation, "Now, let's see what this 'bot has under his shell..."

* * *

><p>1035 Hours, Chaotix HQ<p>

Espio led Bunnie and Matilda to a wooden shack on the right side of the cave. He opened the door and entered with the two Mobians following after. The door shut behind them, sealing them all in complete darkness. Bunnie tried to wave her hand in front of her face, but she couldn't see it.

"Ah cain't see a thing in here." Bunnie said, "What is this place?"

"This," Espio said, striking a match and lighting a candle sitting on a shelf, "is my Dojo."

Faster then she thought possible, Espio lit candles throughout the shack, revealing the full interior. Wood paneled walls stretched from the floor to the ceiling and a tatami mat sat upon the floor.

As Bunnie looked around, she saw weapons ranging from kunai to katana lined against the far right wall, and sitting directly in the middle of the wall opposite her was a wooden table. Sitting atop it was a wooden rack holding a sword within its silver sheath.

"The Shinobi Blade." Espio said in response to Bunnie's curious expression, "My mentor, Valdez used it, and it was given to me when he... passed on."

Bunnie's noticed a door to the left of the table.

"What's in there?"

"It's my private quarters." Espio replied, "I'm afraid it's off-limits."

The chameleon then walked towards the line of weapons and selected two katana. He tossed one to Bunnie and drew out the other blade.

"What's this fo'?" Bunnie asked, looking at the blade in confusion.

"Your training." Espio said.

"Wait, what?" Bunnie immediately became concerned, "Ah'm sorry, sugah, but Ah don't think Ah can use somethin' like this."

"You did when you were fighting me earlier." Espio countered calmly.

"Well, Ah... That was..." Bunnie stuttered, "Maybe, but Ah'm not sure how Ah did that."

"Let's determine how, then." Espio replied, "Matilda, would you join me on the mat?"

Wordlessly, Matilda walked onto the mat and faced the ninja. Espio gestured towards her cloak. With a sigh, the female armadillo slowly parted the garment.

Bunnie gasped as she saw what was beneath the cloak: Two robotic arms with oversized pistons protruding from the backs of her elbows. The armadillo's glistening hands were firmly clenched as she stepped into a defense stance.

"You're staring..." Matilda said, with the slightest hint of annoyance in her voice.

"Oh, sorry. Ah..."

"It's fine." The armadillo sighed, much to the rabbit's surprise, "I've gotten used to it."

"Watch closely, now." Espio said to Bunnie, "Begin."

Matilda lunged towards Espio with a straight punch. The ninja deflected the attack with the flat side of his blade, and countered with an outward crescent kick. Matilda blocked, spun and attacked with a side kick. The chameleon quickly leaned backwards until his back was parallel to the floor, dodging the kick. He stood back up and jabbed his sword at Matilda. The armadillo brought her arms in front of her body, blocking the ninja's blade.

They continued countering, dodging and blocking each other's attacks for about 5 minutes until Espio sheathed his sword and bowed to Matilda, who did likewise.

"Excellent work, Matilda." Espio said, turning to Bunnie, "Did you see that?"

"Uh, what was Ah supposed ta see?"

"The importance of staying in control of your abilities." Matilda responded, letting her cloak fall around her body again, "If you aren't careful, the power you contain can overwhelm you."

"Thank you, Matilda." Espio said, "Now, would you care to try, Bunnie?"

Bunnie looked at the katana she held in her hand, and then back to the chameleon.

"Okay..." She said hesitantly as she walked onto the mat.

"Good." Espio nodded, "Let's get started."

* * *

><p>1045 Hours, Angel Island<p>

Sonic and Sally followed Knuckles and Athair down a rugged dirt path. They had left the cave and met up with the elderly echidna, who was now taking them to a place where, as he put it, they would master their inner strengths.

Admittedly, they were a little unsure of what to expect, given the fact that they were currently on an island that, according to textbooks, was only a legend and were working with a species that, according to most historians, had vanished from Mobius years ago. On the bright side, however, at least things couldn't get any weirder then they already were.

Speaking of weird...

"Hey, Knuckles." Sonic spoke up, gesturing to the Chao hanging onto his quills, "What's with the little guy?

"He's chosen you as his partner." Knuckles replied, "The Chao can choose who they want to bond with, and once they do, they can take on their appearances and abilities."

"So..." Sally mused, holding her chin thoughtfully, "Since Arcos is skilled with machinery, Corso inherited his mechanical skills?"

"Exactly."

"He's goin' to be my partner?" Sonic asked, looking at the Chao doubtfully, "I don't think he's gonna be able to do much."

"Appearances can be deceiving, Sonic." Athair replied, "Many have underestimated the Chao's potential, and often regretted doing so."

At the end of the path, the dirt abruptly changed into the coarse grains of a sandy beach. Sonic and Sally stared in amazement at a waterfall flowing down a rocky cliff face into a clear pool.

"Whoa..." Sonic gasped, his stunned expression changing into a grin, "Way past cool!"

"This place is incredible." Sally replied with the same air of amazement.

"It's one of the most peaceful locations on the island." Athair said, "The perfect place to hone your abilities. Espio actually spends a lot of his time here meditating."

"So, how's this goin' to work?" Sonic asked.

Suddenly, Knuckles hit the hedgehog in the neck with the blade of his hand. Sonic immediately collapsed in an unconscious heap on the grass.

"Hey!" Sally exclaimed, shocked by the echidna's sudden action, "What was that for?"

"The only way for Sonic to master his new abilities is to confront Mephiles." Athair replied, "In order to do that, however, Mephiles must be released."

"No!" The princess objected, "He'll try to kill everyone on the team! It's too big a risk!"

"We're all at risk either way." Knuckles said, "There's no other option, you have to release Mephiles."

Sally looked at the unconscious form of her fellow Freedom Fighter and friend, and then down at her hands. She was wrong, things WERE getting weirder.

"All right…" She relented, walking over to Sonic and kneeling down. She placed both hands on Sonic's back, and closed her eyes.

* * *

><p>1100 Hours, Robotropolis<p>

Naugus ascended the staircase leading up to the surface with Snively trailing behind him.

"Naugus, explain this to me." Snively requested, struggling to keep up with his companion, "Why was there a Chaos Emerald below this city, and how did Julian never find out about it?"

"As I already said, Snively," The wizard growled, "It was a royal family secret. The chamber was created for the sole purpose of drawing out the emerald's power to energize the city, while hiding it from any prying eyes."

"How did the Acorn's come to possess an emerald in the first place?"

"Many years ago, an expedition led by King Sebastian stumbled across an ancient temple in the Great Jungle. Only the King and a few of the expedition members survived the quest." Naugus explained, "They brought it back to Mobotropolis and Sebastian had it sealed away beneath the city. Only his family and a few select individuals knew."

"How did you find out about it?"

"If you must know, Maximillian entrusted me with the information when I became one of his main advisors. I planned to take the emerald when Julian began his coup, but my plans were altered when he sealed me in The Void."

"I hate to state the obvious, Naugus." Snively interrupted, "But we only have one Chaos Emerald."

"Precisely." Naugus hissed, "When I tap into its power, I'll be able to locate them all, and once we have all seven, victory will be ours."


	20. Freedom Fighter Boot Camp, Part 2

1105 Hours, Angel Island, Arcos' Laboratory

"That should do it!" Arcos spoke up after examining every scrap of code in Omega's processor and every single detail of his armor and weapons, "I'll save the data to my computer for a more thorough analysis later, but I don't see any hidden programs or back doors right now."

As Omega walked out from the machine, Chuck took out NICOLE and brought her to Arcos.

"Oh, cool!" Arcos exclaimed, "A miniaturized computer interface! What d'you want me to do with it?"

"To be honest, Arcos, I don't know." Chuck shrugged. He told Arcos about NICOLE's incident in Robotropolis and her recent odd behavior.

"I'm wondering if that shock did any damage to her systems." He explained.

"So you want to use one of my machines to determine the damage." Arcos stated, handing the device back to Chuck, "Sure. However, I'll be busy analyzing Omega's data, but you can use my system scanner. Follow me."

The echidna led Charles upstairs. The hedgehog was amazed to see a highly state of the art computer opposite the staircase, a small table with all sorts of odd-and-ends, and a metal shelf containing all sorts of technical oddities.

Arcos quickly glanced through the shelves before grabbing a small metal square and handing it to Charles.

"This can interface with a machine?" Charles responded questioningly, looking at the square in disbelief. The thing was barely big enough to fit in his palm. He doubted something so small could interface with a machine.

"You have to open it up first." Arcos replied, gesturing to the pillar in the middle of the room, "Place it on the shaft and watch."

With a shrug, the hedgehog placed the square on the pillar. In a flash, Several identical panels flipped out around the square and merged to form a silver-gray screen. Other panels slid out, merging to form a platform that Chuck guessed was supposed to hold something, while other panels emerged from the sides of the screen and merged into two smaller screens.

"Incredible..." was all the astonished hedgehog could say.

"This little beauty was one of the first things I built." Arcos boasted proudly, "It can interface with any machine, and displays any information on the screen up there."

"You actually built this?" Chuck asked, observing the craftsmanship of the device, "I've never seen anything so advanced."

"Actually," Arcos said hesitantly, "There are the ruins of an old fortress some ways from here. I found them one day and I started tinkering with their technology. That's how I built a lot of the stuff in my lab and in the cave."

"Could we investigate the ruins later?" The elderly hedgehog asked.

"Maybe," Arcos replied, "But first, I've got data to process. Knock yourself out."

As the echidna walked to his computer, Chuck placed NICOLE on the platform below the machine. In a flash, an interface cord slid out from under the screen. The hedgehog grabbed the cord and plugged it directly into NICOLE's access port. A stream of data flashed over the left screen as the device accessed the handheld computer's systems.

"Now, then, NICOLE," Chuck flexed his fingers, "Let's see what's wrong."

* * *

><p>1115 Hours, Angel Island, Chaotix HQ<p>

Bunnie automatically raised the blade to intercept Espio's sword. She and the chameleon had been going back and forth at each other for about fifteen minutes, and she wasn't even tired.

Even more surprising were her reactions. She didn't have to think about what she had to do, her body just seemed to move automatically in response to the ninja's attacks. She was also very calm despite the fact she was fighting toe-to-toe with a chameleon ninja with many years of experience, and she was a western Mobian with only a little knowledge of martial arts.

"Your skills are excellent, but they require some refining." Espio commented, slashing at the rabbit, "You must control your abilities, not let them control you."

"How do Ah do that?"

Bunnie blocked the ninja's blade.

"You must let go of your fear."

Espio's blade clashed with Bunnie's.

"Fear?"

"You are afraid of what others will think if you can't fully control your abilities." Espio said calmly, "You fear that you may hurt someone, maybe a family member, or a friend."

"Ah… Ah don't know what you're talkin' about." Bunnie stuttered, absent-mindedly shifting her stance a bit.

"You've been with the Freedom Fighters since the beginning, correct?" Espio asked calmly, "In a since, they're the only family you have."

"Maybe, but Ah..." Bunnie shook her head, "Hold it, what does this have ta do with mah trainin'?"

"Everything." Espio replied, "You have this incredible ability, but you fear that you may never have complete control over it. And if you have no control, you could end up hurting someone, maybe one of your teammates."

Bunnie froze.

Espio sheathed his sword, "But that's already happened, hasn't it?"

"S-stop it..."

"In Robotropolis, you did something." The chameleon persisted, "You weren't in control, but you ended up hurting a member of your team."

"H-how could ya know that?" Bunnie asked, her voice breaking slightly.

"You're not the only person here who's burdened with regret." Espio said, "Matilda, could you step outside for a moment?"

Without a word, Matilda went outside.

"I suppose you're wondering about Matilda's... well, arms."

"How did that happen?"

"Vector, Mighty and Matilda went to meet a group of Freedom Fighters a few years back." Espio explained, "However, things went south. Matilda and Mighty were caught in an explosion. Mighty's shell protected him, but Matilda wasn't so lucky."

"What does this have ta do with me?"

"You're still dealing with guilt and fear, and so is Mighty." Espio explained, "The guilt will always be a part of you, so will fear. But you have to choose whether or not you let the fear control you. Once you're in control of your fear, you'll be able to control your abilities."

Without warning, the chameleon unsheathed his sword and attacked. Time seemed to slow down for Bunnie as she pondered what the chameleon said. He was right. Even though she had gotten over her sorrow, she was still afraid of her abilities. She was afraid of the rest of the Knothole villagers seeing her as a monster, and she was afraid of hurting Sonic again.

Then again, she was a Freedom Fighter, a soldier fighting for a free Mobius. Casualties were a natural part of war, even though they caused a lot of pain and sadness. She couldn't worry about what others were going to think, and she couldn't let her personal fears overwhelm her. She was a Freedom Fighter, and she would fight until her last breath!

In an instant, a whirlwind of metal and circuitry sprang out from under her skin, sliding over her fur and merging together. With one swift strike, Espio's weapon flew out of his hands. Bunnie knocked the chameleon to the floor and held her blade to his neck.

"Excellent work." Espio said, not frightened in the least.

The chameleon pulled out a kunai and deflected the rabbit's blade. He flipped back onto his feet.

"Let's continue."

* * *

><p>1130 Hours, Angel Island<p>

Sonic was floating.

He didn't know where he was, or how he got here, all he knew was he was floating.

**"Aren't you going to wake up?"**

Sonic's eyes snapped open and he sat up. He looked around a blank white area, before settling on the figure of a black hedgehog with red streaks flowing through his black spikes. Mephiles was floating in midair with his legs crossed, and an impatient expression on his face.

"What the...!" Sonic shouted, "How'd you get out?"

**"Isn't it obvious?"** Mephiles responded with a nonchalant wave of his hand, **"Your 'princess' released me."**

"Why would Sal do that?" Sonic muttered.

**"I assume that they wanted us to fight."** Mephiles shrugged, **"I figured I'd wait until you awakened. I'm not strong enough yet to simply take over your body."**

"Uh... thanks?" Sonic said, a little at a loss.

Mephiles snapped his fingers together. In an instant, all manners of blades and handheld weapons appeared around them.

**"Pick one."** He said.

"What?"

**"Pick... one!"** The spirit hissed, **"Select a weapon and face me! Of all the Mobians on this planet, I get stuck with the most brainless one!"**

"HEY!" Sonic shouted, "Take that back!"

**"Just grab a weapon."** Mephiles growled, **"The sooner we fight, the sooner I get a body!"**

Sonic glanced around at the selection of weapons floating around him. Some weapons looked too bulky to wield while others didn't look too effective.

**"If I were you, but I'm not,"** Mephiles spoke up, **"I'd choose Galatine, the axes of Sir Gawain, or maybe Arondight, sword of Sir Lancelot. They say the blade never loses its sharp edge."**

Sonic ignored the dark figure's suggestions and instead gripped the handle of a three-foot blade. The sword's hilt gleamed golden-yellow as the hedgehog observed it.

The other weapons instantly faded as Sonic inspected his weapon.

**"Ah, Caliburn."** Mephiles nodded, **"A useful blade for training squires."**

"How d'you know so much about this stuff?" Sonic asked curiously.

**"Isn't it obvious?"** Mephiles replied as if he was speaking to a five year-old,** "I possess knowledge of all time periods and worlds!"**

"What?"

**"You didn't think that this Mobius is the only one, did you?"** Mephiles asked, chuckling sinisterly, **"How quaint. You and your friends are ignorant of the true nature of the universe."**

Sonic fought back the urge to slash the dark hedgehog into a million pieces, "Tell me somethin', creep."

**"What?"** Mephiles asked, Sonic's insult falling on deaf ears.

"If Sal released you, why are you still here?"

**"When you and the princess sealed me away, I lost a good portion of my power. I can get it back, but it will take time."** The spirit explained, "**I'm currently not strong enough to simply take over your body. For me to do that, I must get rid of you first."**

"Well," Sonic muttered, looking down at the sword in his hand, "All right. If you win, you get to move in."

**"And what happens if you are victorious?"** Mephiles asked, descending to the ground.

"I stay, you give me your powers, and you stop tryin' to take over my body."

**"I must say..."** The figure remarked, grabbing Arondight from thin air and drawing his finger along the sharp edge, **"You're risking a lot for a fight you can't possibly win, hedgehog."**

"I put a lot on the line against Robuttnik," Sonic smiled wryly, "So fightin' you should be a breeze."

**"When you put it that way,"** Mephiles replied, swinging his sword in a wide arc, **"I like my odds. You have yourself a deal, hedgehog."**

"Okay, then, pal." Sonic muttered, gripping Caliburn's hilt tightly, "Let's do it to it!"


	21. Freedom Fighter Boot Camp, Part 3

1145 Hours, Angel Island

Chuck stood at the system scanner, going through every scrap of code in her systems. So far, nothing looked out of the ordinary. Then, something occurred to him.

"If the damage wasn't done to her storage programming..." He muttered, "Her AI must have been corrupted."

He switched to the section of coding that handled her AI. It definitely showed signs of damage. He scrolled through the section, taking notice of the gaps in her programming data. As he continued to examine, he noticed something... odd about the code. There were points of it that were a little too systematic, too organized, even for a machine.

"Hmm..." He mused. Something about the coding reminded him of... something. He just couldn't place it. He zoomed out so he could see the code in in its entirety. What he saw had the same effect of being slapped in the face.

Of course! He remembered now...

"Arcos!" He shouted, "Get Rotor! You boys need to see this!"

* * *

><p>1150 Hours, Angel Island<p>

Tails walked into Arcos' workshop. Rotor was busy welding a piece of metal with one of the echidna's blowtorches. He looked up as the young fox walked into the lab.

"Tails? What are you doing here?"

"I... I just wanted to see if Arcos would let me work on something in the lab." The young fox said timidly.

"Well..."

"Hey, Rotor!" Arcos shouted, walking down the stairs, "Can you come up here for a second? Chuck wants to show us something."

The echidna then saw the young fox standing near the entrance.

"Oh, hey kid!" The echidna smiled. "Is there something you want?"

"I, uh, wanted to see if I could work on something." The fox said, looking around the workshop.

"Sure!" Arcos replied, "Corso has a robot he's been working on, but I don't think it'll work. Maybe a second pair of hands'll help."

Corso's irritated voice squeaked aloud from upstairs.

"You've been working on that thing for months, man!" Arcos shot back, "If you ask me, I think you could use some more help."

A reluctant squeak followed the echidna's response.

"Good." The echidna gestured over his shoulder, "C'mon, kid."

Tails and Rotor followed Arcos up the winding staircase to the next level. When they reached the next floor, the young fox walked to the Chao's work table. Corso quickly glanced at the young fox before looking back at a collection of robot pieces sitting in front of him. Four identical robotic animal legs were attached to a circular frame, and sitting next to the body was a spherical dog's head.

"You're building a dog?"

Corso uttered a string of squeaks that made as much sense to Tails as Mandarin Chinese.

The young fox's face twisted up in a confused expression. "What?"

With what was most likely an annoyed sigh, Corso grabbed what looked like an armband with an attached voice box from the table. He strapped it around his arm and pressed the button on the side.

_"As I was saying..."_ A frustrated voice emanated from the device as the Chao spoke, _"This is not a robot dog, it's a device for assisting in the Chaotix's missions."_

Tails was stunned. Not only was the device translating the Chao's language, but he could understand what it was saying!

"No way!" He gasped, an excited smile spreading out across his face, "A translation device? Cool!"

_"It's not perfect."_ The Chao shrugged, _"It can work for a while, but every so often, it says the wrong cranberry."_

"D'you think I can take a look at it?" The fox asked.

_"Maybe... But not until we're done with my project here."_ Corso replied hesitantly, _"And as much as I hate to admit it, I probably do need some help."_

"So... what's the problem?"

_"That's what I don't understand..."_ Corso admitted, _"I've checked and re-checked every detail: The wiring, the frame and every single scrap of code. I've even disassembled and rebuilt this thing again and again, but it still doesn't wallaby."_

With an annoyed grunt, the Chao thumped the device on the table.

_"I mean, it still doesn't work."_

"Well, why don't we look inside?"

_"Be my guest."_ The Chao replied, handing Tails a screwdriver, _"Maybe you can find something I'm not seeing."_

Later in his life, Tails would look back on this moment as a turning point in his life. At the moment he took a look inside the mechanical dog, something inside his head clicked.

"I think I see the problem." He said, pointing to some wires in the robot's body, "The insulation on the wiring is too thin. That's why it hasn't been working, the energy's leaking out instead of going to the rest of its frame."

Corso was stunned by the fox's ingenuity.

_"A-Are you sure?"_ The Chao stuttered, looking inside the robot's frame, _"Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle. You're right..."_

Corso pulled out the frayed wire and replaced with another one. He plugged it in and placed the cover back on the dog's body and screwed the head back onto the neck. The Chao flipped up a panel on the dog's main body, exposing a small switch. Corso flipped the switch, and in an instant, the dog's eyes lit up. Its whole body sprang to life. It sat down and glanced around the room, shaking its tail excitedly before it looked at Tails and Corso.

"H-Hi there!" Tails said, holding up his hand in a welcoming gesture.

The robotic dog yipped its cheerful response. It was then distracted by its shaking tail, and ran around in circles trying to catch it.

_"Incredible."_ Corso said in amazement, _"You actually got it to drown. I mean, work."_

"Yeah..." Tails said slowly as he realized what he just did, "I guess I did."

* * *

><p>1155 Hours, Angel Island<p>

"Okay, Uncle Chuck." Rotor said, "What'd you wanna show us?"

Chuck looked shocked; like he'd just learned (or remembered) a terrible secret.

"I-I..." He murmured, like he was trying to wrap his mind around something, "I don't believe it..."

A chill ran down Rotor's spine. "What?"

"NICOLE... She... She's more then a machine." Chuck explained in excitement, "She's a Mobian consciousness digitized into the computer!"

"WHAT?!"

"Are you sure?" Arcos asked, "The technology to do something like that is years ahead of what I have!"

"It's not." Chuck said, " It's been done before. I didn't remember it, but then I saw this."

Chuck zoomed out to show the image the coding made: The face of a brown Lynx with surprisingly cheerful purple eyes.

Rotor didn't realize it, but he had the same shocked expression that Chuck had.

"No way..." He gasped, "That can't be...

"It is." Chuck confirmed, "It's Nicole."

"Sally's friend?"

"Yes."

"Okay..." Arcos murmured, "And who was she?"

"Sally's first childhood friend." Chuck explained, "And the first Mobian whose life I ruined."

"What?"

"It was during the Great War." The hedgehog said slowly, "I built a satellite communication network to coordinate our forces during the war. However, none of the computers I had were flexible enough to simultaneously maintain all of the satellite's positions."

"So how does Nicole fit into this?"

*ROBOTNIK THEORIZED THAT A MOBIAN CONSCIOUSNESS COULD CONTROL THE SATELLITES WITHOUT OVERLOADING*

Rotor and Arcos jumped. The face on the main screen just talked!

"N-Nicole!" Rotor gasped, "You... You're..."

*TALKING?* The face asked, *YES*

"And Uncle Chuck is the reason you're like this?"

*NO!* Nicole said, *IF IT WASN'T FOR SIR CHARLES, I'D BE UNDER ROBOTNIK'S CONTROL!*

"Come again?"

*ROBOTNIK SELECTED ME FOR THE BRAIN-MAPPING PROJECT THAT SIR CHARLES ABANDONED* Nicole explained, *SOME LINX'S POSSESS THE ABILITY TO MULTI-TASK MORE THAN OTHERS, AND I WAS THE ONLY LINX IN MOBOTROPOLIS WHO SERVED HIS NEEDS. HE CAPTURED ME AND TRANSFERRED MY MENTAL CONSCIOUSNESS INTO THE NETWORK*

"How'd you end up in the handheld?"

"Robotnik was sloppy in his work." Chuck explained, "He didn't expect Nicole to rebel. She contacted me through the communications network and told me everything."

*SIR CHARLES BUILT THIS HANDHELD FORM FOR ME* Nicole said, *HE TRANSFERRED MY CONSCIOUSNESS INTO IT, AND IT'S BEEN MY HOME EVER SINCE*

"Then how did Sally get you?"

"It's a little more complicated." Chuck said, "Robotnik found out about the transfer, and you can guess how angry he was."

"I can't imagine." Rotor muttered.

*SIR CHARLES KNEW THAT ROBOTNIK WOULD COME AFTER HIM, SO HE...* Nicole faltered, *HE HAD ME ERASE BOTH HIS AND ROBOTNIK'S MEMORIES OF MY IDENTITY AND PURPOSE*

"That's why I didn't remember." Chuck said, "However, when I saw the data that comprised her AI, it triggered the memories, kind of like opening a forgotten file in a computer."

*AFTER THE MIND WIPE, SIR CHARLES GAVE ME TO THE KING* Nicole continued, *I MANIPULATED HIM TO GIVE ME THE INFORMATION THAT WOULD HELP YOU IN THE FUTURE. AFTER THAT, I PROGRAMMED A SERIES OF BLOCKS THAT SUPPRESSED MY EMOTIONS*

"And they were erased by that electricity surge from the Roboticizer!" Rotor concluded.

*YES* Nicole nodded, *THE SUDDEN SURGE OF EMOTIONS WAS... OVERWHELMING. I'VE SPENT SO MUCH TIME IN THE HANDHELD FORM, I'VE FORGOTTEN WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO LIVE LIFE AS A REGULAR MOBIAN*

"We can help with that." Chuck said, "But first, Sally needs to know about this. She was devastated when you vanished."

"Where is she?"

"Great-Gramps and Knux took Sonic and Sally to a secret place on the island." Arcos explained, "I know where it is. Follow me."

Chuck and Rotor followed the echidna down the stairs. Tails and Corso stayed upstairs, playing with the robotic dog.

Chuck froze at the bottom of the stairs.

"Wait..." He said, "Where's Omega?"

* * *

><p>1200 Hours, Angel Island<p>

Omega stomped through the village of Haven. As he passed through, the Mobians shut their doors and barred their windows. Omega didn't even notice.

The only thought on his processor was that his mission to see Robotnik dead was over. What was his purpose supposed to be now? He had been built with the express purpose of eliminating his enemies, but what was he supposed to do if he had no enemies to hunt?

His pondering was interrupted by something settling atop his head. The innocent face of a Chao, with a red bow tie around its neck, appeared upside-down in front of his visor. He would have blasted it if it were a threat, but his systems didn't see it as such, so he ignored it.

"Cheese! Where are you?" A youthful female voice called from behind Omega.

The automaton turned around to see a small Mobian rabbit walking in his direction. The Chao gave a happy squeak and flew towards her.

"There you are!" The young rabbit said in relief, "I was worried... Oh."

Her voice trailed off when she saw who the Chao had been with.

"H-Hello, Mr. Robot..." She said shyly.

Omega didn't respond. Instead he disappeared into the forest, leaving the young rabbit alone.

"Uh, goodbye!"

*CREAM!*

Cream turned around to see a robot a few feet taller then she heading towards her. It was colored gold and black and had a golden three-pointed crest on its forehead.

*WHO WERE YOU TALKING TO?*

"Oh, it was that robot that Mr. Knuckles brought to the island."

*OMEGA?*

"I-I think so..."

*C'MON, CREAM* The automaton said quickly, firmly gripping her hand, *LET'S GO HOME. YOUR MOTHER'S BEEN LOOKING FOR YOU*


	22. Freedom Fighter Boot Camp, Part 4

1205 Hours, Angel Island

Cream, Cheese and their robot companion walked through the entrance of a quaint one-story house. Chocola, a brown Chao, tackled Cheese in midair with a friendly bear hug. Working at the stove was Cream's mother, Vanilla. She turned to the door as they entered.

"Oh, there you are, Cream!" She sighed in relief, "You found Cheese?"

"Yes, I did!"

"Where did you find him?"

"He was with the robot that came here with the Freedom Fighters."

A worried expression passed over her mother's face. "Do you mean... Omega?"

"Um, I think so?" Cream said.

The adult rabbit looked at the droid, who nodded its head. Vanilla swallowed nervously.

"Cream," She said slowly, "I don't want you to go anywhere near that robot."

"Why not?" Cream asked, her ears drooping slightly, "Gemerl's a robot."

*CREAM,* The automaton said, kneeling down and placing its hand on her shoulder, *I'M AFRAID YOUR MOTHER IS RIGHT. THERE'S A BIG DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND OMEGA*

"Like what?" Cream asked.

*WELL,* Gemerl pondered for a second, *I WAS BUILT TO KEEP YOU COMPANY AND LOOK AFTER YOU, CHEESE AND CHOCOLA. THAT OTHER ROBOT WAS BUILT TO HURT OTHERS*

"He didn't hurt Cheese..." The young rabbit said quietly.

"That doesn't matter, dear." Her mother responded, "Omega is dangerous, and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Okay..." Cream said with a sigh, walking towards her room, "C'mon, Cheese."

As the door shut behind the rabbit, Gemerl and Vanilla began talking in low voices.

"I never thought I'd see Omega again."

*WE CAN'T TELL CREAM, CAN WE?*

"We can't." Vanilla sighed, "I'm afraid we'll never be able to tell her."

*BUT WE CAN TALK TO ATHAIR, RIGHT?* Gemerl asked, *I MEAN, EVERYONE HERE'S USED TO SEEING ME, BUT OMEGA...*

"I'll talk to Athair." Vanilla replied, "Although I don't understand why his great-grandson had to bring Omega here."

*I'LL MAKE SURE HE WON'T HURT CREAM*

"Thank you, Gemerl." The rabbit said gratefully.

Gemerl nodded. *I'LL BE OUT IN THE VILLAGE*

The robot walked out of the house. As the door closed behind him, he pondered the circumstances of Omega's presence on the island.

*THE METAL WARRIOR IN TIKAL'S PROPHECY...* He muttered to himself, *COULD OMEGA BE THE ONE TO FINALLY DEFEAT ROBOTNIK?*

* * *

><p>1210 Hours, Angel Island<p>

Sonic and Mephiles' blades clashed, sending off showers of sparks. Both hedgehogs jumped back and began circling each other. Sonic rushed Mephiles with Caliburn at full speed.

The dark hedgehog deflected Sonic's blade and countered with a side-kick into the hedgehog's stomach. Sonic doubled over, dropping Caliburn on the floor.

_**"Pathetic."**_ Mephiles remarked, _**"You can't even use a blade as crude as Caliburn."**_

Gritting his teeth, Sonic grabbed the sword's hilt.

"I'm not done yet." He growled as he stood up on his feet, "It ain't over till the hedgehog sings."

_**"You have impressive resilience."**_ Mephiles remarked, _**"But neither that or your speed will save you."**_

The dark hedgehog rushed Sonic. He doubled back, deflecting Arondite's sharp blade with Caliburn.

_'Dude's right...'_ He thought to himself, parrying with Mephiles' blade, _'Looks like I'll have to do what Sal would do: Use my head.'_

As the fight dragged on, Sonic observed the spirit's attack pattern. He was pressing forward with all his strength, and was using Arondite's sharp edge to increase the damage of his attacks.

Sonic used his speed to put a great distance between himself and waited until the spirit charged him at full speed. At the last second, the hedgehog dove to the side, leaving no target for Mephiles to attack. The dark hedgehog skidded to a stop, giving Sonic the opening he needed. In a flash, he hit Mephiles in the back, knocking him to the floor.

**_Sonic_** pointed the tip of Caliburn's blade at his chest.

"Ready to give up yet?"

**_"Just because you knocked me down doesn't mean I'm beaten yet."_**

To prove his point, Mephiles used Arondite to knock Caliburn out of Sonic's hands. He rolled backwards onto his feet and propelled himself toward Sonic. The hedgehog dove to the side, but wasn't quick enough to escape the spirit's blade. Sonic felt cold metal slash across his back and something trickle down his right leg.

With a sickening feeling in his stomach, Sonic looked at the thin stream of blood running down his leg and off of his shoe.

_**"At a loss, aren't we?"**_ Mephiles said with a sinister smile,**_ "Where are your big words now, hedgehog?"_**

Sonic was too shaken up by the sight of his own blood to speak. With a satisfied grin, Mephiles slashed his sword across the hedgehog's chest. Sonic cried out in pain as the cool metal of Arondite slid across his chest. He applied pressure to the wound, stumbling back from Mephiles' sword.

_**"How far the mighty fall..."**_ Mephiles chuckled, _**"Just be grateful you're not with THAT princess. It's a rather embarrassing point in that universe."**_

Before Sonic could even respond, the dark hedgehog hit his cheek with the flat side of his blade. Sonic hit the floor, doubling the pain he felt from his wounds.

_'What am I gonna do?'_ He thought to himself as he clutched his hand against his bleeding chest, _'The dude's going to kill me... Sal ain't gonna be too happy about that.'_

_Sonic..._

Sonic looked behind him. Mephiles was frozen like a statue with his sword held above his head. Sonic guessed from the spirit's murderous expression that he was planning on turning him into chop liver, or whatever meat hedgehogs were made into.

"Wh-who's th-there?" He gasped between labored breaths.

_It's me._

Sonic looked at the blade lying only a few feet from him. There was no way, he thought, he had to be losing it. Maybe he had lost too much blood.

"C-Caliburn?" He stuttered, "H-How are you...?"

_Talking?_ The english voice replied, _There are many things I can do besides talk, but that's not important now. You have to get back up!_

"I-I can't." Sonic groaned, struggling to push himself up, "There's no way I can beat him."

_That doesn't sound like the hedgehog who faced impossible odds with a laugh!_ Caliburn rebuked, _You CAN beat him, Sonic! All you need to do is concentrate!_

"On what?"

_What am I saying?_ The voice muttered in self-chastisement, _You've always been spontaneous, haven't you?_

"Y-yeah?"

_That's what's helped you win in your battles against Robotnik! Your unpredictability has always caught your enemies off guard, so you can use that to your advantage! I'll help where I can, but you must defeat Mephiles on your own power!_

"Cool, but..." Sonic pressed his wound tightly, "I'm kinda bleedin' out here."

_Remember, you're inside your own mind._ The voice said, _In here, anything is possible if you will it!_

With a shrug, Sonic closed his eyes and concentrated. He willed his wounds to be healed, and to have the power to fight Mephiles. Suddenly, he felt a surge of strength flow through his body. His wounds sealed up, and the pain instantly dissipated. He stood up firmly on his feet.

Sonic thrust his arm forward, and Caliburn's hilt, with blade attached, flew straight to his palm. He brandished the blade as Mephiles emerged from his stasis. Arondite's edge clashed with Caliburn.

_**"Impossible!"**_ Mephiles gasped as Sonic pushed him back.

"You need to learn some more words, buddy!" Sonic smirked, "Ready for Round 2?"

Mephiles stabbed at Sonic with Arondite. Sonic deflected the blade and jabbed at the dark hedgehog's chest. The spirit fell back and went on the defensive. Sonic drove against Mephiles with an unending series of jabs, slashes and thrusts.

_**"How are you doing this?"**_ Mephiles asked, slowly buckling under the hedgehog's attacks.

"I had some help." Sonic said. He glanced at the blade he held in his hands.

_**"That shouldn't be possible!"**_ The dark hedgehog responded, _**"Caliburn is just a mere blade!"**_

_Maybe in the hands of corrupt beings, but in the hands of a noble hero, I can accomplish the impossible!_

Mephiles was too stunned by the voice emanating from the sword to react. Sonic punched the dark hedgehog in the face and immediately drove Caliburn's blade straight through his chest.

With shock-filled eyes, Mephiles looked at the hilt buried in his chest and the blade jutting out of the spines on his back. Sonic pulled the blade out, and Mephiles fell to his knees. The dark spirit was shaking with both shock and rage.

_**"I..."**_ He said slowly, _**"I am beaten."**_

Sonic folded his arms impatiently, "And?"

_**"And... I am bound to our agreement..."** _Mephiles growled, _**"I relinquish control of my power to you. I will no longer attempt to take control of your body."**_

"Good." Sonic nodded, "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Mephiles chuckled unnervingly. _**"You won't like what you find when you wake up..."**_

Suddenly, Sonic found himself lying on his back. He felt the warmth of the sandy beach beneath him, and the warmth of the sun on his skin. Before he could take in the serenity of the moment, a pink fireball appeared above him. As Sonic's eyes adjusted, he saw that it was Sally, a wall of pink psychic energy flowing around her like a shield. She streaked down towards him, and Sonic flipped out of the way just in time.

"SAL!" He shouted, "What are you doin'?"

Sally stopped as soon as Sonic spoke, but Sonic himself stopped as soon as he heard the sound of his own voice. It was much lower, more gravelly and much more monstrous. Suddenly, it occurred to him that he was a few feet taller, and his spines felt disheveled, as if they hadn't been tended to for weeks. He looked down at his hands and his eyes widened. His gloves were gone, ripped to shreds, and in their place were two monstrous hands with sharp claws and bulging muscles running up and down his thick, furry arms.

"W-what the heck is goin' on?" He stammered.

"S-Sonic..." Sally said, cautiously taking hold of his massive hand, "You should take a look in the water."

Sally led Sonic over to the beach, and the instant he saw his reflection in the water, he jumped back. He slowly looked back into the calm reflection of the pool, and he couldn't believe what he saw.

His teeth were sharp and jagged, his eyes were a deep green, and his fur was a much darker blue, covering most of his body. Sonic reached out towards his reflection, his claws skimming the surface of the water.

"H-How?" He gasped.

"While you were unconscious, you began attacking in a blind rage. Sally engaged you to prevent harm from coming to any innocents on the island." Athair said, reminding Sonic that he and Knuckles were standing close by. He also saw that Chuck, Rotor and Arcos were near, looking at the scene with stunned eyes.

"And..." Sonic looked at his reflection, "This is what I turned into?"

"Yes..." Athair said slowly.

For a second, Sonic was too stunned to say anything. However, a smile slowly played out across his face.

"Way past cool!" He growled.

* * *

><p>Author's Note: Hehe... Anyone see that Sonic '06 reference I made? Also, sorry for the long hiatus.<p> 


End file.
